How will our lives change in the future? Will our society live longer because we have better medical care? The answer is most likely yes, but our genetic manipulation/sequencing will take us to a new level. Instead of living to one hundred, will we be able to live to two hundred? More importantly, is it ethically correct to create a “fountain of youth” through genetic correction? An article I read recently helped me gain some understanding. So far, researchers have had minimal success using gene therapy to correct most genetic conditions, and no researchers have used gene therapy to correct genetic defects in a fetus (Parens). While it's impossible to correct genetic defects, we've discovered how to test for over 400 conditions, from those considered serious, like Tay Sachs, to what many might describe as relatively minor, like polydactyly (a trait that involves an extra little finger) (Parens) . As testing for these genetic diseases becomes easier, so too does the perception, both in the medical and broader communities, that prenatal testing is a logical extension of good prenatal care. On the other hand, as long as in utero interventions remain relatively rare, and as long as the number of people seeking prenatal genetic information to prepare for the birth of a child with a disability remains small, prospective parents will use positive prenatal test results primarily as a basis for the decision to abort fetuses that carry mutations associated with disease or disability (Parens). “…There is a certain sense in which prenatal testing is simply a logical extension of the idea of ​​good prenatal care” (Parens). Whether it is a logical extension or not, using prenatal testing to prevent the birth of children with disabilities appears to be a good decision for many people (Parens). Even if the test doesn't help you carry a healthy baby to term this time, it gives prospective parents the chance to try to conceive again (Parens). “For others, however, prenatal testing looks quite different. If you think you understand why people identified with the disability rights movement might consider such tests dangerous. For members of this movement, including people with and without disabilities and both problem- and disability-focused groups, living with disabling traits need not be harmful either to an individual's prospects for leading a dignified life, or to the families in which they live. grow, or to society in general” (Parens).