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Crossed Genres Interview with IEET’s Athena Andreadis
Posted: Jul 18, 2009
Athena Andreadis, Associate Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, author of To Seek Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek, and IEET Fellow, talks about human-hybrids, werewolves, settling on other planets, and human evolution both past and future in this interview posted at Crossed Genres.
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There was so much in that article worth commenting, but being who I am, one sentence caught my eye:
"Now, I think there’s nothing wrong with taking care of major problems, like severe Autism or Down Syndrome."
Can I ask you to accurately define "taking care of"?
Also, can you tell me if you meant "severe Autism or severe Down Syndrome" or "severe Autism or ordinary Down Syndrom"?
I will answer your question, if you define "being who I am".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Burke_(actor)
Ah, yes. I'd heard of the series, though I have never watched it. The answer to the simpler question first: I meant severe Down syndrome. I examine one aspect of trisomy 21 in my research, so I'm aware of its complexities not just as a social question but also on the molecular/cellular/organismic level.
Given who you are, you know the health complications that people with Down syndrome face (heart, intestines, respiratory system, early onset dementia) and that the severity increases depending on how much of chromosome 21 exists in triplicate. Severe cases of Down syndrome often die very early, because of the physiological problems. Also, fetuses with trisomies of other chromosomes (which are larger -- 21 is the second-smallest, so it has far fewer genes) either get spontaneously miscarried or die very shortly after birth.
You also undoubtedly know that the overwhelming majority of women who find out that they carry a trisomy 21 fetus abort it, if they have the option. Those who have mild Down syndrome and mild autism (including Asperger's) ask a fundamental question: why should they have to justify their existence, when others get a free pass despite whatever complications (inherited or acquired) they may have? And how does that differ from people preferentially aborting female fetuses?
But those who ask these questions are real people already born and functioning in society, not potential people. I suspect that most prospective parents, if the technology were available, would choose to have the trisomy removed when the zygote is at the few-cells stage. I would agree with that choice, which is what I had in mind during the interview. Once a child is born, s/he's an individual. And how s/he is treated (overall, not just medically) depends/will depend on intrinsic severity of the syndrome, available resources, social outlook and the views and options of the parents.
I have a suspicion there will be follow-ups to this, so I won't make this already long post longer than it is.
Mr. Burke, I'm pleased you found our interview worth comment. 'Life Goes On' meant a lot to me growing up.
I'm one of the editors at Crossed Genres Magazine, and I would love to invite you to write an article for our Child Fiction issue.
The link to our definition of the term Child Fiction as distinct from Children's Fiction is here: http://crossedgenres.com/current-genre/
Please email me at kayholt @ gmail.com if you're interested or if you have any questions.
Thank you again for taking the time to comment.
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