Imagine a future without drug addiction, alchoholism, or obesity. Sound good? Now imagine we achieve that by injecting our children with vaccines that force the body to reject drugs, attack alchohol, and suppress appetite. Still sound good?
We place limits on our children to protect them - cabinet locks, fenced yards, child-proof bottle caps. The idea is to keep them safe until they mature and learn to "know better." At some point, however, we remove the limits, open the gates, and let them go forth as adults.
More and more we take actions that help them beyond our home and yard, such as insurance policies, vaccinations, and educations. Nobody doubts these are noble and beneficial.
Today we reach further and further into the future of our children. For instance, vaccination for cervical cancer prevention is available. Lives are being improved and even saved by this new technology.
But at what point to we stop? If we could vaccinate our children so that opiate-based drugs have no effect, should we? This might save them from future drug addiction by removing the choice. With an alchohol antagonist vaccine we could save them from future alchoholism by removing the choice.
The question is do we have the right to remove those choices, to limit our children's adult life? There's no question that children are our responsibility, but should we reach into the future and tamper with their adulthood?
It's not a question that is easy to answer. If my parents could have had me immunized against obesity back then, I know my life would probably be better now. But if it meant I didn't enjoy food, would I appreciate that better life?
Though not easy to answer, we will soon be faced with these questions and more. And the scary part is we won't get the test results until long after school is out.
Study time, kids.
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