New technology makes it possible to select embryos and guide genetic choices. What once began as a medical necessity - preventing disease - is slowly shifting to optimization: the idea that we can, and perhaps even should, improve children. Technology not only expands the possibilities, it also shifts the norm. What used to be exceptional feels increasingly natural. And with it, expectations are also changing.
In this session, Britta van Beers and Sjoerd Oppenheim explore what this development means for parenting and freedom of choice. Parents increasingly feel the pressure to choose the best for their child. These choices are not isolated, but are influenced by technology, social norms and ideas about what is desirable. This raises fundamental questions: how free are choices still when the pressure increases? When does a possibility become an expectation? And who ultimately determines what is "better"?
This interactive session focuses on reflection. Using concrete examples and thought-provoking statements, we will discuss and gain insight into how technology influences our ideas about reproduction and parenthood.
Practical information
- Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
- Location: Campus Square, greenhouse
- Time: 5:30 to 6:00
- Duration: approximately 30 minutes
- Language: Dutch
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