GENETIC INTERVENTIONS AND JUSTICE

In his book In a Better World? Public Reason and Biotechnologies Elvio Baccarini employs public reason argument to justify legitimate use of genetic interventions. According to his argument policies of genetic interventions are legitimate if and only if they (i) correct generally recognized genetic impairments and disabilities; (ii) add talents without removing other talents; and (iii) enhance given or added talents without removing any other. In my discussion I find third requirement problematic. But, even if there is suitable public reason answer to this worry I believe that it still has problems connected to justice of such policies if they will be only affordable to higher classes of society. I claim that in these circumstances we have good reasons to ban such interventions. I try to argue that this ban is not the form of levelling down objection; that these policies will endanger social bases of self-respect and that we have good reasons to believe that if such technologies are available the scope of distributive justice changes to include distribution of talents