Psalm 1

Psalm 1:

The reason why you and I become dry, lifeless, restless and unproductive is because we are not consistent in
delighting in the law of the LORD and meditating
in His law day and night.

As a result, we may have walked in the counsel of the ungodly, stood in the path of sinners or sat in the seat of the scornful.

Aim for His result:

To be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

What is sin?

The basic sin of humanity is seeking independence from God.

-Ajith Fernando

Embryo screening is genetic discrimination

The emergence of newer technologies and the existence of pre-implantation genetic screening in other countries do not make it morally right for Singapore to embrace this procedure (“Three hospitals to offer embryo-screening technique in pilot study”; Nov 15).

The embryo is, at every stage of its development, a human being. Screening for normal, healthy embryos is immoral, as it leads to the destruction of defective embryos. It is in reality a search-and-destroy mission — the modern face of eugenics.

Genetic equality is pursued to increase the chances of a successful IVF cycle. Reproduction becomes a process of division by class, transforming parents’ unconditional love into an attitude of conditional acceptance.

What results is genetic discrimination and a willingness to discard those who are unfit. What kind of society are we creating?

As one with a genetic disorder, I am deemed to have defective genes compared with a person without a disability. I would have been discarded.

What message does pre-implantation genetic screening convey to existing parents of persons with special needs? That their decision to raise such a child was foolish and inferior when it actually showed courage and perseverance?

The pursuit of genetic equality will erode our willingness to treat the genetically impaired as humanly equal. Unless we admit and address our fear of and misconceptions about disability, our attempt to build an inclusive society is only skin-deep. 

http://www.todayonline.com/voices/embryo-screening-genetic-discrimination

The grief of God

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
(Genesis 1)

You shall not murder. (Exodus 20)

And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech...
(Leviticus 18)

The unpopular issue is very important to God.

#abortion
#ivf
#chooselife
#griefofGod

Genetic discrimination in Pre-implantation Genetic Screening

This letter was sent to ST Forum but was not published.

The embryos are developing members of the human species, offspring of their parents ("Hope for fewer miscarriages with genetic screening" ; 15 Nov). 

In selecting embryos which are chromosomally normal, genetic equality is pursued to increase the chances of success in an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle. 

This pursuit for genetic equality gives rise to genetic discrimination that will widen the gap between the haves and the haves-not, making us unwilling to work with and care for those who are deemed to have inferior genes.

Assistant Professor Tamra Lysaght is right to say that the pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS) will cause stigmatisation of disability in our society. 

How is it right to compromise the equal dignity of persons with disabilities for the 'goal' to help couples conceive in cases where the woman's fertility is diminished or compromised?

How is it justifiable to eliminate embryos with abnormalities in the pursuit of the miracle of life?

I regret the deep-rooted fear and misconceptions of disability in the woman who terminated her pregnancy when she found out that her baby had Down Syndrome ("Criteria set for IVF embryo screening trial"; 15 Nov). 

I empathize with parents who courageously bring up their children with Down Syndrome. Truly your love does not count chromosomes.

In embracing PGS, we open the door to more forms of discrimination and create a hostile society for the vulnerable and the disadvantaged. 

We build a 'throw-away' culture which will one day conveniently discard the old and frail. 

This is not the SG100 vision that our nation can look forward to. 

From the Editor:

Hi Serene

Actually, our stories say that the screening doesn't screen diseases or disabilities, but abnormal chromosomes that will likely cause miscarriages. Also, screening of Down syndrome is not allowed. It's not the same as screening for diseases or disabilities, which is still not allowed.

So it's not a case of parents being able to screen embryos with inferior genes or diseases or disabilities, as what I'm reading from your letter.

Regards
Wy-Cin

Hi Wy-Cin,

Appreciate your response to my letter.

To screen for abnormal chromosomes means eliminating those embryos that don't pass the quality control.

We all know that people with Down Syndrome have an extra chromosome so to choose the embryos with the correct number of chromosomes is to discard those embryos that when allowed to grow in the right environment, will be babies born with Down Syndrome.

To screen and select is itself a discrimination.

How do you explain the Professor's response that it will cause stigmatization of disability in our society if you say it's not screening of disability?