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The ethics of gene therapy: balancing the risks
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Imagine a world where having a child was more intense than now. Not only do you need to buy a crib, but you have to decide how smart you want your child to be or what eye color they should have. This is what the future of gene therapy will lead to if our world is not cautious. It does have its benefits that can help our world. With the new technology surrounding gene therapy, we can save children from diseases and pain. The only issue with this technology is we are changing the genetic makeup of the child. Gene therapy may also become a prevention for genetic disorders such as saving a child from having Alzheimer's disease. The extreme positive and negative effects in these procedures cause the animosity between the sides. It forces the future …show more content…
It resembles a ripple effect. Once one small item is created it allows for more and more creations until it is possible out of control. “Argue that the slippery slope argument is unsound because we can avoid sliding down the slope to social and ethical disaster with adequate regulations and safeguards” (Resnik). We cannot predict the exact future. We cannot prevent one scientist from taking his power and using it for evil. Its is hard to prevent a slippery slope effect because once it is already in place. That is why people are trying to stop the process now because we can still save the creativeness of our world before it is too late. “the work sparked fears that designer babies were around the corner” (Kaiser).The future of science scares some people because we cannot control the technology nor the scientists. The slippery slope is scary because at this point it seem plausible in our society for this one technique to lead to designer babies. It could lead to the developing children and their genes instead of letting science and an above power do its job. The slope leads us down a scary path that destroys our society and its wonders bit by bit.
Gene therapy is a treacherous direction into altercations in the human race. The argument is that technology has the potential to help but also opens a dangerous door to new biological science. The future of gene therapy splits into a two-sided argument. The truth
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It explains that with clinical trials, screening and the proper knowledge gene therapy will be beneficial to our race. It can hopefully put an end to deadly or detrimental genetic disorders. “I think it is possible to practice genetic enhancement without violating commonly accepted principles of ethics or social justice” (Resnik 28). Resnik claims gene therapy can be dangerous but with the right rules in place we can make sure the evilness does not come out of this new science. He also talks about why it should be legal and plausible in our society. It states that with our society’s parental rights and customs gene therapy may be able to exist. “Parents have the right to bear children, to raise children and make decisions concerning their health … Then parents have the right to pursue forms of HGLGT (Human Germ-Line Gene Therapy) that promotes health” (Resnik 25). This is claiming that parents have a right to this new technology in order to better the lives of their children. We do acknowledge that parents do have ultimate control over their children in society but gene therapy may be crossing a line. The article is summed up by say the underlying problem regarding gene therapy is the lack of education. When we educate everyone on the fact of gene therapy and the rights of humankind the the development of gene therapy
In the modern world humans have been able to design and create nearly anything, most to aid us in our daily lives and improve our standard of living. It is only inevitable that eventually humans would take our superior knowledge and skill to manipulate life itself and change our genome to produce a healthier and even more superior human standard of life. In recent years discussion about gene therapy has changed into a promising possibility to treat many of our common human diseases and disorders. Although gene therapy might be the answer to many problems, it has been met with a number of logistical and ethical hardships. With the prospect of being a treatment for inherited genetic disorders, cancers, and viral infections, gene therapy seems like the logical fix-it-all bandage that many people would benefit from.
In this paper, I will negatively expose Walter Glannon’s position on the differentially between gene therapy and gene enhancement. His argument fails because gene therapy and genetic enhancement is morally impermissible because its manipulation and destruction of embryos shows disrespect for human life and discrimination against people with disabilities.
...r, human genetic engineering is not immoral; the failure to use such a technology is truly what is unjust. To negate the resolution is to turn a person away from a possible cure, from a chance to prolong life. I have shown that human genetic engineering can improve the health of the society by both curing disease and prolonging live. Both benefits are worthy goals of any just society. These possible benefits of genetic engineering, those of curing disease and prolonging life, outweigh any possible "side-effects" that may occur with the development of any new technology. But we must remember that we do not rush into any new technology; human genetic engineering will be done carefully as with any technology, so that we may maximize the benefits of such a great gift to society. For these reasons, I affirm the resolution, "Human genetic engineering is morally justified."
Gene therapy focuses on the replacement of defective genes with modified functioning genes. Many diseases are caused by a defective gene meaning the body is incapable of producing essential proteins or enzymes. In its simplest form, gene therapy aims to identify the defective gene and fix this gene with the replacement of a normal gene (Senn).
"What's the worst that can happen to me? I die, and it's for the babies," said Jessie Gelsinger as he left for the hospital to receive gene therapy treatment. (Stolberg) People risk their lives everyday in the name of science. One such science that people have recently been drawn to is gene therapy. Although, gene therapy may be new and exciting and it may be helping to find cures to diseases we only dreamed of curing, we have to remember it is dangerous. It needs to be done with much supervision. Every new step we take in the advancement of gene therapy should be thought over because the consequences could reach farther then we ever believed they could. There are so many dangers of the techniques used that can lead to consequences as serious as death. The government imposes many guidelines, and it needs to stay that way. The biggest dangers, however, may be in what is to come.
The use of gene therapy to prevent illness and disease by changing a person's genetic makeup is a good use of science. Gene therapy is an approach in science to treat, or ultimately prevent disease by changing the expression of a person's genes. The way a gene is expressed is something like a person's hair color. Gene therapy is still in its very early stages of development. Any gene therapy that is being worked on today is still in its experimental stages. It will not be used in humans for extensive use for a while. The only humans are ones who are in clinical trials ("Gene Therapy").
"The aim is to decrease the fear of a brave new world and to encourage people to be more proactive about their health. It [Gene therapy] will help humans become better physically and even mentally and extend human life. It is the future” (Hulbert). Dr. Hulbert, a genetic engineer, couldn’t be anymore right; more time, money, and research needs to be put into gene therapy and genetic engineering, since it can cure certain illness and diseases that are incurable with modern medicine, has fewer side-effects than conventional drugs or surgery, and allows humans to be stronger physically and mentally at birth. Gene therapy or genetic engineering is the development and application of scientific methods, procedures, and technologies that permit direct manipulation of genetic material in order to alter the hereditary traits of a cell, organism, or population (NIH). It essentially means that we can change DNA to make an organism better. Genetic engineering is used with animals and plants every day; for example with genetic...
Walters, LeRoy, and Julie Gage Palmer. Ethics of Human Gene Therapy. Oxford University Press, New York. 1997.
Dan W. Brock ambitiously sets out to see if there are conditions under the idea that genetically engineering human offspring is morally permissible and if there are any moral limitations that constrain the use of genetic engineering. In “Genetic Engineering”, he defines the obvious complications first and foremost in this topic. He states that since this is a new medical experiment, there is still an enormous amount of work that lies ahead to understand the specific genes that not only contribute to human disease and disability, but also the multitude of complex physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral traits of a normal, functioning human being. He then goes on to state the various uses of genetic engineering, which include the prevention of diseases, the overall extinction of disabilities, the enhancement of normal human functions, and the general impact of genetic engineering on the norms of fairness and inequality. People who are on the lower economic standpoint will not be able to afford to modify their future generations genes, therefore, there will be another inequality within our society.
Since its inception, gene therapy has captured the attention of the public and ethics disciplines as a therapeutic application of human genetic engineering. The latter, in particular, has lead to concerns about germline modification and questions about the distinction between therapy and enhancement. The development of the gene therapy field and its progress to the clinic has not been without controversy. Although initially considered as a promising approach for treating the genetic of disease, the field has attracted disappointment for failing to fulfil its potential. With the resolution of many of the barriers that restricted the progress of gene therapy and increasing reports of clinical success, it is now generally recognised that earlier expectations may have been premature.
Many are appalled by the idea of tampering with genetics and changing the DNA of an embryo to have the best characteristics. People don’t see it being ethical and they are afraid of the changes it will bring to our society. Even with this said the embryos can only be altered up to seven days after fertilization and once they have been genetically modified the embryos have to be destroyed. The research has been approved because the research is going to be done towards helping remove bad genetic diseases from the germ line. Even with this said many are angered by the approval of this experiment. People who disapprove of such studies believe that scientist are not interested in gene therapy but instead are looking for ways to enhance certain genes in an embryo. Like the article in national review states “Rather than repairing genes, the scientist will be disrupting genes in normal, healthy embryos so that they can learn about embryonic development”. (“Experiment on Human
Scientists and the general population favor genetic engineering because of the effects it has for the future generation; the advanced technology has helped our society to freely perform any improvements. Genetic engineering is currently an effective yet dangerous way to make this statement tangible. Though it may sound easy and harmless to change one’s genetic code, the conflicts do not only involve the scientific possibilities but also the human morals and ethics. When the scientists first used mice to practice this experiment, they “improved learning and memory” but showed an “increased sensitivity to pain.” The experiment has proven that while the result are favorable, there is a low percentage of success rate. Therefore, scientists have concluded that the resources they currently own will not allow an approval from the society to continually code new genes. While coding a new set of genes for people may be a benefitting idea, some people oppose this idea.
...ring deadly diseases and preventing abortions. In order for gene therapy to one day become effective much more research needs to be done to discover the consequences of altering specific genes. Also the technology of gene therapy needs to be cost effective so people who need help are able to get help. In the end gene therapy in humans needs to come a long ways before it will be widely accepted but there is great potential in the technology and it needs to be pursued.
What are the risks and what are the possible benefits? Currently, gene therapy is one of the only ways to change the genetic makeup of an animal or human. Also, the chance of gene therapy being successful in animals is fifty percent, while in humans it is five percent. Human Genetics Alert believes “Once we begin to consciously design ourselves, we will have entered a completely new era of human history, in which human subjects, rather than being accepted as they are, will become just another kind of object, shaped according to parental whims and market forces”. HGA provides background information on the currently available resources used in Genetic Engineering.
One of the primary concerns involves using CRISPR for parents to create babies with traits they find desirable (such as hazel eyes or a muscular build) which causes many to compare this technology with eugenics, which was a 19th-20th century movement to breed humans (Masci). This one issue doesn’t mean we should stop engaging in this science. Most seem to be okay changing the genetic code to prevent disease, so there is no logical reasoning as to why changing traits in the same process would make some uncomfortable. Others also take issue with the fact that these enhancements may cause a greater divide in society, claiming that those who refuse to have enhancements will be left behind and may even create such a great shift that those who don't have or are behind on enhancements may be left behind. While this is an alarming issue, there could be numerous solutions, including having a type of council for those who don’t want to receive enhancements or for the government to handout enhancements to everyone so no one can be limited by their