Defending the genetic supermarket : parental choice, future people, and the harm principle / Colin Gavaghan.

1. The attack on the genetic supermarket -- 2. Autonomy and germinal choice -- 3. Children of the genetic supermarket -- 4. Impossible alternatives : Derek Parfit and the non-identity principle -- 5. Disability, gender and the threat to the already disadvantaged -- 6. Saviour siblings and the 'means-ends' imperative -- 7. Justice and the genetic supermarket -- 8. Defending the genetic supermarket -- Afterword : a frank admission.

"In 1974, Robert Nozick speculated about the possibility of a 'genetic supermarket', where prospective parents could select the genetic traits of their future offspring free from state interference. In the intervening decades, Nozick's idea has been attacked from left and right, by disability activists, Christian bioethicists, radical feminists, and many others. But amidst the 'designer babies' rhetoric, have any of them built a compelling case against a pro-choice model? Defending the Genetic Supermarket considers whether Nozick's hypothesis can in fact be faulted. Can a case be made out for state involvement in such decisions? Who stands to be harmed by a supermarket model? Are any ethical principles or societal interests threatened by it?"--BOOK JACKET.