The article this week reminds me of the opening scene in Gattaca. A young boy named Vincent is born naturally, however it is determined that he has a heart defect and is likely to die at the age of 30. His brother Anton is born through genetic selection. As a result of Anton’s superiority, Vincent lives an inferior life thanks to genetic discrimination.
The article doesn’t necessarily show that we’re on a path to pre-crime discrimination, but there is trouble data in this study. Fetal scans show a hole in brain development at 12 weeks, and this can possibly lead to cavum septum pellucidum. (Fischman, 2011) This condition can lead to antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy and aggression. Criminality is a social topic that we tend to avoid. With the highest amount of people incarcerated with 500 people in prison per 100,000 people and with 1.6 million prisoners in 2010. (Scommegna, 2012) Additionally blacks are six times more likely to be incarcerated than whites.
The study did a good job avoiding the politics and cultural significance of our penal problems, but you have to account for racial problems. Black families are less likely to have higher education, therefore they will have a lower income, and their children will lack the proper nutritional and medical care needed to have healthy development. The end of the article states that Raine is currently studying children in Philadelphia to evaluate diet and possible rehabilitation of children that show slow physical reactivity and accompanying behaviors with cavum septum pellucidum.
It is good to discover biological tendencies that accompany criminal behavior, but you have to evaluate all aspects of human development. Your future is not determined at birth. If my child had developmental “defects,” I’d work to fix the problem, but it is my child and my responsibility to ensure the health of my child, and should never be public information.
Works Cited
Fischman, J. (2011, June 12). Criminal Minds. Retrieved from The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/article/Can-This-Man-Predict-Whether/127792/
Scommegna, T. T. (2012, August). U.S. Has World's Highest Incarceration Rate. Retrieved from Population Reference Bureau: http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx
I agree with you and would like to share my experience with you as an example. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I went to one of the best doctors offices in Joplin and at five months, they performed an ultrasound, which is normal procedure. What they told me was that my daughter was deformed beyond human recognition!!! (She was moving around and her hand looked like it was deformed.) The width of the spinal cord (I believe) was abnormal or the fluid retention in the neck area was another factor that proved the child would be "without a doubt Down Syndrome". They recommended that I "take care of the problem". I was in shock, but refused to allow any further testing and asked what they meant by recommending that I take care of it? They said abortion was the only solution. I left and never went back to that office again. Four months later I had a beautiful little girl whom is now 13 and a straight A student at East Jr High. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a DAMN thing wrong with her,besides her thinking she is in charge! Luckily I had faith and was very blessed in doing so because her and her brother are the best part of my world! She is and has always been perfectly healthy!
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