BY DAN
KENNEDY
Notes and observations on
the press, politics, culture, technology, and more. To sign up for
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For bio, published work, and links to other blogs, visit
www.dankennedy.net.
For information on Dan Kennedy's book, Little People: Learning to
See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes (Rodale, October 2003),
click
here.
Monday, July 07, 2003
Dwarfism and the new
eugenics. What were you doing on the Fourth of July? Probably not
reading the New York Times. That's all right. I was, and this
morning I want to call your attention to this
splendid column by Nicholas
Kristof about the ways in which genetic advances may eliminate
various types of disability -- including achondroplasia, the most
common form of dwarfism.
It turns out that Kristof has
family members in Britain who are dwarfs. He introduces us to one of
them, Tom Shakespeare, a scholar of genetics. I'd heard of
Shakespeare, but didn't know much about him. He seems like a pretty
interesting guy. Shakespeare has a website, which you can get to by
clicking
here.
The point of Kristof's column is
that what might seem at first glance to be an unalloyed good thing --
genetically engineered "cures" for dwarfism and other types of
disability -- could have disastrous consequences down the road. It
also happens to be a major theme of my forthcoming book on the
culture of dwarfism, Little
People.
posted at 8:44 AM |
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
