Chapter 3:
Genetic Control
Multiple Choice Questions
1) Which of the following is or are true of embryonic stem cells?
a) They have the potential to become any kind of cell.
b) They eventually become adult stem cells.
c) They are potentially capable of treating genetic diseases.
d) All of these choices
2) Crossing the germ line involves making changes that
a) result in changes between species.
b) could be passed down to subsequent generations.
c) affect only one individual.
d) affect the somatic cells of more than one species.
3) Critics of prenatal genetic testing argue which of the following?
a) It is not clear which genetic conditions are sufficiently serious to justify aborting the
fetus.
b) Genetic testing is a form of discrimination against people with disabilities.
c) Diminishing the number of people with genetic conditions will have a negative effect on
those now living with these conditions.
d) All of these choices
4) The aim of increasing the number of favorable genes in the human population is called
a) positive eugenics
b) negative eugenics
c) the Human Genome Project
d) neutral eugenics
5) The aim of decreasing the number of undesirable or harmful genes in the human population is
called
a) positive eugenics
b) negative eugenics
c) the Human Genome Project
d) neutral eugenics
6) George Annas believes that, historically,
a) prenatal screening has been used to find conditions that could justify the view that
abortion is permissible because the fetus would be better off dead.
b) prenatal screening has been used to find conditions that could be rectified by genetic
therapies.
c) prenatal screening has been used as a substitute for elective abortion.
d) all of these choices.
7) Asch considers aborting to avoid having a child with a disability morally on a par with
a) aborting to avoid having a deaf child.
b) aborting to avoid having a child of the “wrong” sex.
c) aborting to avoid the expense of child-rearing.
d) aborting to select for particular traits in a child.
8) GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) prohibits which of the following?
a) It prohibits employers from requiring genetic tests as a condition of being hired.
b) It prohibits health insurers from disclosing genetic information about an individual.
c) It prohibits employers from buying genetic information about an employee.
d) All of these choices
9) Which of the following is or are true of gene therapy?
a) Gene therapy research has proved disappointing and researchers are shifting to other
means of treating genetic disorders.
b) It is now routinely used to cure people with sickle-cell disease and leukemia.
c) It provides considerable promise for people suffering a variety of genetic disorders.
d) All of these choices
10) The Catholic Church would approve of using which of the following in research?
a) adult stem cells
b) embryonic stem cells
c) both of these sources
d) no sources at all
11) Kantian ethics would be likely to view forced sterilization as
a) morally acceptable if performed for the good of society.
b) morally acceptable if performed for the good of the individual sterilized.
c) an affront to the autonomy of individuals.
d) an affront to the well-being of the fetus.
12) Dena Davis focuses on which of the following genetic disorders in formulating her
argument?
a) deafness
b) Huntington’s
c) Achondroplastic Dwarf syndrome
d) Down syndrome
13) Dena Davis believes that genetic counselors should not help parents conceive a child with a
genetic disorder for which of the following reasons?
a) Genetic counseling is the same as human cloning.
b) She believes that abortion is always wrong.
c) It violates the child’s right to an open future.
d) All of these choices
14) Which of the following does Jeff McMahan list as a common objection to prenatal or
preimplantation screening for disabilities?
a) The practices are discriminatory
b) The practices are harmful to the disabled as both a group and as an individual
c) Reduction in the number of disabled persons would have a detrimental impact on human
diversity
d) All of these choices
15) The Principle of Procreative Beneficence stipulates which of the following?
a) Reproducers should select the child who is expected to have the best life out of all
children that they could conceive.
b) Reproducers should select the child who is expected to have a life that is at least as good
a life as the alternative children they could conceive.
c) Reproducers should make decisions about the children they could conceive based on
relevant, available information.
d) All of these choices
16) Bonnie Steinbock argues that
a) selecting against disability implies a devaluation of disabled people.
b) it is reasonable for parents to wish to prevent disability in their children.
c) selecting for disability if morally permissible.
d) selection of persons should never occur.
True/False Questions
1) Multifactorial diseases have more than one cause, and so cannot be successfully treated.
2) Even granted the role of genes in producing diseases, it is important to keep in mind that
predispositions are not themselves diseases.
3) It is undisputed that the fetus has the same moral status as a person.
4) Before embryonic stem cells begin to differentiate, they have the potential to become any of
the specialized cells.
5) Because embryonic stem cells have the capacity to become cells of any type, it is possible
that they could be used to produce whatever sort of cells that are needed to treat a particular
disease.
6) Roman Catholic moral thought holds that it is morally wrong to destroy a human embryo to
acquire stem cells.
7) There is no difference between therapeutic and non-therapeutic cloning.
8) At the current moment, only about 100 human diseases have been identified as involving
genetic factors.
9) It has been suggested that every disease involves a genetic component in some way.
10) Genetic screening involves public health programs that survey target populations with the
aim of detecting individuals at risk of disease for genetic reasons.
11) Currently, several state and federal laws make it a crime for couples who are genetically
considered “bad risks” to have children.
12) Rawls’s principles of justice would give us reason to provide social support to a genetically
impaired child.
13) Julian Savulescu argues that society has a moral obligation not to allow tests for non-disease
genes (if they become available) to be used in making reproductive decisions.
14) Michael Sandel argues that we should pursue genetic enhancements to secure the most
perfect humans possible.
15) Magill and Neaves claim that if stem cells can be derived from human skin cells there can be
no moral objection to research on stem cells from this source.