Parental Selecting and Autism

According to Savulescu and Kahane’s principle of Procreative Beneficence, potential parents have a strong moral reason to select the child who will, on the basis of her genetic furniture, enjoy the most well-being. Embryos with a tendency towards autism are considered to have reduced wellbeing, and therefore, it is morally advised, when possible, not to select them. We claim that, in the case of mild autism, the principle of Procreative Beneficence should not be carried out, and more precisely, that there is no victorious public reason for potential parents to negatively select an embryo with mild autism. The focus of our argument is put on talents and abilities specific to persons with autism, and because of them, we can reasonably find this condition as that of a valuable human life. We extend the debate and discuss a question of enhancement. In this context, our proposal is future-oriented, under the assumption that needed biomedical resources will become available. Our thesis is that potential parents that have a child with mild autism have a moral obligation to use biomedical resources to remove or reduce their child’s impairment, under the condition that the enhancement does not affect child’s talents and abilities