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Ethical issues of genetic testing
Negative effects of genetic testing
Ethical issues of genetic testing
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Genetic testing by employers.
Genetic testing by employers is where DNA, proteins and any other chromosomes are detected for any mutations. The aim in this is to find any forms of cancer, sickle cell or other diseases. When it comes to being employed, it helps to forecast any illnesses that is followed by the temptation for employers to decide whether hiring is worth it based on the information from the testing. The test provides only a little amount of information about the condition the person being employed has inherited. It can not provide information about whether or not the person will show symptoms or whether it will affect the job. “Genetic mutations can have harmful, beneficial, neutral (no effect), or uncertain effects on health. Mutations that are harmful may increase a person's chance, or risk, of developing a disease such as cancer. Overall, inherited mutations are thought to play a role in about 5 to 10 percent of all cancers.”(8) Throughout my essay i will state the implications of Genetic testing in the workplace, the different viewpoints on genetic testing (both for and against, my personal opinion of the topic and strategies that could work in various forms.
There are different types of genetic testing.
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Another ethical implication is that some of the genetic results will not show all possible mutations in the gene that causes a certain disease or condition. Because some genetic test results might not give the full lot of information the individual wants, the test could need hard decisions to be made without giving or having the complete full information. This can quite possibly lead to the clinicians and patients to have
In Gattaca, the plot focuses on the ethics, the risks, and the emotional impact of genetic testing in the nearby future. The film was released in the 90s; yet in the present, the film does not give the impression of science fiction. Today, genetic testing is prevalent in many aspects of the scientific community. This paper will describe genetic testing, its purpose, diagnostic techniques that use genetic testing, relating Huntington’s disease to genetic testing, and the pros and cons of genetic testing.
The history of harmful eugenic practices, spurring from the Nazi implementations of discrimination towards biologically inferior people has given eugenics a negative stigma (1,Kitcher, 190). Genetic testing, as Kitcher sees it through a minimalistic perspective, should be restrained to aiding future children with extremely low qualities of life (2,Kitcher, 190). He believes that genetic engineering should only be used to avoid disease and illness serving the role of creating a healthier human race. He promotes laissez-faire eugenics, a “hands off” concept that corresponds to three components of eugenic practice, discrimination, coercion and division of traits. It holds the underlying works of genetic testing, accurate information, open access, and freedom of choice. Laissez-faire eugenics promises to enhance reproductive freedom preventing early child death due to genetic disease (3,Kitcher, 198). However there are dangers in Laissez-faire that Kitcher wants to avoid. The first is the historical tendency of population control, eugenics can go from avoiding suffering, to catering to a set of social values that will cause the practice of genetics to become prejudiced, insensitive and superficial. The second is that prenatal testing will become limited to the upper class, leaving the lower class with fewer options, creating biologically driven social barriers. Furthermore the decay of disability support systems due to prenatal testing can lead to an increased pressure to eliminate those unfit for society (4,Kitcher, 214).
Due to the human genome project and other genetic research, tests for mutation which cause diseases have been developed. The list of these illnesses include several types of cancer. Doctors have estimated that as many as 3,000 diseases are due to mutations in the genome. These diseases include several types of colon cancer in which three different genetic tests have been already developed. Debates have arisen on whether these tests should be used regularly or not. Questions including the patients= rights of privacy and the possibility of loss of health or life insurance have been argued over in both the media and political arena.
If two parents get tested and find out that their child could have the disease, they could choose to get an abortion, which would be abusing the benefits of genetic testing. In the Jewish testing article it says “or they may choose to end the pregnancy” (Goldschmidt). In this case, taking the life of an unborn child due to genetic testing is an example of how genetic testing can be morally unsound. Also, if a cure is found for genetic testing, the treatments can be very harsh. In the Patients in Limbo article is says “every month for the first two years of her life” (Marcus). Although a cure was found, this child had to undergo extreme treatment in order to have the chance of being cured for the condition. As just a young child, depending on the type of treatment it is, this can be too extreme for such a young patient and can deteriorate the young ones body. In this situation, although genetic testing led to results, it also led to things that can cause pain and suffering, which is not what genetic testing should be used to
The Human Genome Project is the largest scientific endeavor undertaken since the Manhattan Project, and, as with the Manhattan Project, the completion of the Human Genome Project has brought to surface many moral and ethical issues concerning the use of the knowledge gained from the project. Although genetic tests for certain diseases have been available for 15 years (Ridley, 1999), the completion of the Human Genome Project will certainly lead to an exponential increase in the number of genetic tests available. Therefore, before genetic testing becomes a routine part of a visit to a doctor's office, the two main questions at the heart of the controversy surrounding genetic testing must be addressed: When should genetic testing be used? And who should have access to the results of genetic tests? As I intend to show, genetic tests should only be used for treatable diseases, and individuals should have the freedom to decide who has access to their test results.
In today’s world, people are learning a great deal in the rapidly growing and developing fields of science and technology. Almost each day, an individual can see or hear about new discoveries and advances in these fields of study. One science that is rapidly progressing is genetic testing; a valuable science that promotes prevention efforts for genetically susceptible people and provides new strategies for disease management. Unnaturally, and morally wrong, genetic testing is a controversial science that manipulates human ethics. Although genetic testing has enormous advantages, the uncertainties of genetic testing will depreciate our quality of life, and thereby result in psychological burden, discrimination, and abortion.
Bishop, J.E. (1984, September 12). Predictive probes: scientists are focusing on genes predisposing people to illnesses --- new methods will facilitate prevention but will raise ethical, legal questions --- should employers be told?. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/397923305/142BF1EC4C524F61E66/128?accountid=34899
Genetic testing, also known as screening, is a rapidly advancing new scientific field that can potentially revolutionize not only the world of medicine, but many aspects of our lives. Genetic screening is the sequencing of human DNA in order to discover genetic differences, anomalies, or mutations that may prove pathological. As genetic screening becomes more advanced and easily accessible, it presents society with difficult questions that must be asked about the boundaries of science and to what degree we are allowed to tamper with the human genome. To better understand the potential impact of genetic screening on our society, we must examine the potential benefits in comparison to the possible negative impact it may cause. With this knowledge in hand, we can examine what the future holds for this field of study and the best possible direction to take.
(2) Even people that don 't have any disease could be more prepare, and prevent it from developing in the future by being more aware thanks to the genetic test provided. Genetic screening is another valuable technology that could help a parent keep track of their baby 's health by examining their chromosomes. Genetic testing and screening could impact the life all patients in a positive way, therefore the opposing side should be grateful, and take advantage of this opportunities provided. For example, a person goes to genetically test themselves in a clinic, and they come to find out that they could potentially develop heart problems in the future. Now they can be more aware, and prepared. They could in many different ways like changing their diet or exercising more so they could better protect their heart, and decrease the chances of having the heart problems, like they where presented in the genetic test. What if the person didn 't know they had a chance to have problems? and start eating unhealthy foods that could likely speed up their changes of developing a heart disease. My point is that the same thing goes to those parent who want to get a update of their unborn child 's health. Many healthy mother don 't really expect that their pregnancy will bring some implications, but in
We also can prepare for the treatment for our disease if the result shows an indication of disease. However, some ethical issues have been major concern in doing genetic screening. Pro and contra from the genetic screening arise with the assumption that surely by doing genetic screening people
Pragmatism is the name of the game when it comes to taking away freedom. The public tends to be against any attempt to curtail civil liberties across the board. It is standard practice, however, to for the government to violate the rights of certain groups in the name of public safety or to fight crime. This is what is happening with the government collection of DNA samples.
INTRODUCTION It is well noted that when doctors have genetic information that may be helpful to the family members of their patients’, they face an ethical dilemma. Often the problem is posed as a dilemma between their duty to safeguard the privacy of their patients, and the interest they have, as physicians, to prevent disease when possible. This essay will look at the uissue beginning with the Hippocratic oath, considered to be the cornerstone of doctors’ ethical practice, and, in particular, will look at some of the liberal arguments made against disclosure, and argues thatthey do not pass the scrutiny of other liberal ideas, and that the “spirit” of liberalism” favours a duty to warn at least in an extreme circumstance. This essay does
The Problem Genetic engineering has been around since the 1960’s, although major experiments have not been really noticed until the 1990’s. Science comes in different forms, the two major being cloning and genetic reconstruction. Cloning is the duplicating of one organism and making an exact copy. For example, in 1996 the creation of the clone sheep named Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned, which was a great achievement. The other form, genetic reconstruction, is used to replace genes within humans to help or enhance the life of an unborn child for a medical reason or just for the preference of a parent.
In recent years, medical advances have enabled doctors to access our genetic code so that people may be aware as to what diseases they are most likely to be diagnosed with in the future. This is based on a person’s family genetic history which makes it easier to confirm from someone’s genetic code, when the doctors have data to compare results to. Meaning, if a patient’s grandmother had heart disease they would be susceptible to heart disease as well since genetics are passed down from generation to generation. Some employers have taken to getting potential employees tested for this reason. “Every person has dozens of DNA differences” making genetic discrimination slightly hypocritical, due to the possibility that someone who is being insulted could share a close genetic code with the person doing the discrimination (Genetic Information N). Although genetic testing can give valuable information about a person’s health condition, employers shouldn’t consider a possible employee’s genetic information as a viable excuse to not hire them because not only is genetic information based on other people’s results and it doesn’t insure that a person has, or will have, a given condition, but they won’t even consider an employee’s skill set or potential after they learn of the results.
Genetic testing can help people determine why they get cancer or other diseases. Genetic testing is recommended to people who have a family history of a genetic disease, have children who are born with genetic defects, and have gone through more than one miscarriage in the past. Though these te...