First Page Extract

The persuasiveness of arguments against the use of drug taking or doping in sport remains unconvincing. As will be argued, it does not seem that there is any position that warrants the removal of all performance enhancing substances from competitive sport. Furthermore, it is less clear whether governing bodies of sport would be justified or would benefit from preventing the use of drugs in competitive sport. Whilst it might be argued that popular opinion remains against doping, it is uncertain whose interests are reflected by this position. This is made most explicit in anti-doping policy where the justification for imposing sanctions on the basis of positive tests is unconcerned with the intent or possible innocence of the athlete. Rather, the very presence of a banned substance within an athlete’s urine or blood, is deemed to be a guarantor of guilt, simply because the substance is placed on a list of unacceptable methods – a policy of strict liability (29). Whilst this perspective might trivialise the efforts of a great number of organisations, such as the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA), which are working to rid sports of drug taking, the rationality of such efforts remains highly questionable and presumes an ethic of sport that is universal and uncomplicated. Broadening these ideas about performance enhancing drugs in sport, this paper identifies the prospect of enhancing athletes through genetic manipulation, arguing the extent to which the enhancement of an athlete by such methods would be desirable for the purpose of sports competition. It is intended that genetic engineering, as an example of performance enhancement in sport, will provide greater insights into why drug-use and similar methods of doping might or might not be acceptable within sports.
Initially, it will be useful to present some caveats as to what kinds of technology are under consideration. Genetic techniques are various and their implications tend to be specific. Thus, the moral issues raised by cloning humans are very different from those raised by the genetic modification of individuals. Not surprisingly, for a paper that is concerned with performance enhancement, the kinds of technology under consideration are those that would seek to provide an enhanced capacity for athletic performance. This is not to suggest that such engineering would render an individual able to perform at an elite level. Rather, such enhancements would merely ensure the potential for one to achieve an elite level of performance given the suitable training conditions. As such, it is the interest of this paper to consider ethical issues concerning the use of such technology. This will be achieved by considering circumstances where individuals are genetically enhanced within society, asking how and whether such people would fit within societies and whether they would fit into sport.

Initially, I will present an argument for considering the prospect of genetically manipulating humans with a view to enhancing their physical fitness, so as to make explicit the relevance to sport. Second, I will identify the assumptions that are made by presenting circumstances whereby genetically engineered athletes exist. This step is particularly contentious, since it bypasses a great deal of legal and political argument that is likely to influence the realisation of genetically manipulating enhancement, such as the maintaining of human rights in an age of genetic technology (10). Nevertheless, such an assumption is essential to allow the considerations of the current paper. Third, I will identify the... .