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Jurgen Habermas has argued that carrying out pre-natal germline enhancements would be inimical to the future child's autonomy. In this article, I suggest that many of the objections that have been made against Habermas' arguments by liberals in the enhancement debate misconstrue his claims. To explain why, I begin by explaining how Habermas' view of personal autonomy confers particular importance to the agent's embodiment and social environment. In view of this, I explain that it is possible to draw two arguments against germline enhancements from Habermas' thought. I call these arguments 'the argument from negative freedom' and 'the argument from natality'. Although I argue that many of the common liberal objections to Habermas are not applicable when his arguments are properly understood, I go on to suggest ways in which supporters of enhancement might appropriately respond to Habermas' arguments.

Original publication

DOI

10.1111/bioe.12082

Type

Journal article

Journal

Bioethics

Publication Date

03/2015

Volume

29

Pages

145 - 152

Keywords

Habermas, autonomy, enhancement, Dissent and Disputes, Freedom, Genetic Enhancement, Germ-Line Mutation, Humans, Personal Autonomy, Politics, Social Environment