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Ethical issues in genetic engineering
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Think of a world where children are born healthy, without risk of disease. Where one’s quality of life can be improved with a simple surgery. Sound interesting? Though many Americans today have an opinion on gene manipulation, less than 10% of the population has an adequate knowledge and understanding of all the benefits and controversies of the technology (Funk). Many advancements are being made in the field of gene engineering, with parents yearning for the chance of one day possibly being able to give their children a better life. Lifespans are being elongated, deadly diseases are being eliminated, and more people are becoming interested in the technology. Genetic engineering should be viewed as ethical when dealing with deadly diseases or the improvement of one's physical well-being. It is true, of course, that scientists and religious …show more content…
Even if just for one child, the chance for a better life should always be held to an acme over another’s personal views. Scientists have created technology with the astounding ability to modify genetic codes, and it should not go to waste. The discoveries are sparking interest all over the world, with parents, scientists, and children alike yearning to explore more of the possibilities. With this new technology comes questions regarding the ethicality of doing tests on our own kind, but it should not be overlooked that it has already benefited hundreds of lives, and can even be used in the future to expand lifespans and eradicate many gene-related diseases in the future. Human beings, as a species, fear the unknown. The advancements being made in technology will bring about new possibilities that will change the way humans view themselves. Change is a constant, and while the people of this generation may not be comfortable with it, those in the future will be grateful for the work
SUMMARY: Director of the Ethics Institute, Ronald M. Green, in his article “Building Baby from the Genes Up” discusses why he thinks that genetically modifying babies genes is more beneficial than destructive. He begins his article off by mentioning a story of a couple who wishe to genetically modify their baby so that they could make sure the baby would not develop the long family line of breast cancer. Green then notifies the reader that no matter where they stand on the matter, genetically modifying babies is going to become more and more popular. Even the National Institute of Health is beginning to invest in technology that can be used to genetically modify human genes. He then explains how genetically modifying human genes can be beneficial,
Picture a young couple in a waiting room looking through a catalogue together. This catalogue is a little different from what you might expect. In this catalogue, specific traits for babies are being sold to couples to help them create the "perfect baby." This may seem like a bizarre scenario, but it may not be too far off in the future. Designing babies using genetic enhancement is an issue that is gaining more and more attention in the news. This controversial issue, once thought to be only possible in the realm of science-fiction, is causing people to discuss the moral issues surrounding genetic enhancement and germ line engineering. Though genetic research can prove beneficial to learning how to prevent hereditary diseases, the genetic enhancement of human embryos is unethical when used to create "designer babies" with enhanced appearance, athletic ability, and intelligence.
Science and technology are rapidly advancing everyday; in some ways for the better, and in some, for worse. One extremely controversial advance is genetic engineering. As this technology has high potential to do great things, I believe the power genetic engineering is growing out of control. Although society wants to see this concept used to fight disease and illness, enhance people 's lives, and make agriculture more sustainable, there needs to be a point where a line is drawn.
Richard Williams proposed that the issue of human freedom be re-conceptualized. Rejecting the traditional view of self-direction as the possibility of choosing among alternatives, Williams suggested that we ground our understanding of individual freedom in morality. In this view, human freedom is enhanced as one "lives truthfully." Truthful living runs counter to self-deception and thereby opens the way for greater freedom, which is fundamentally concerned with being, or existing. It is also concerned with doing or choosing, but only as such individual actions harmonize with an already existing schema of existence When the act of choosing results in self-deception, one cannot automatically assume that choice has been exercised. If deception occurs, one has merely used the freedom to choose to step out of the arena in which it exists. The Aristotelian ethics concurs with the basic tenets of Williams' philosophy.
In the essays, “Building Baby from the Genes Up” by Ronald M. Green, and “Genetically Modified Humans? No Thanks” by Richard Hayes, take opposing sides on the issue of altering human genetics. Green argues that, “Knowing more about our genes may actually increase our freedom by helping us understand the biological obstacles-and opportunities- we have to work with” (497). In other words, we can better ourselves and our children if we alter our genetics in order to become a more “perfect” being (496). On the other hand, Hayes says that altering human genetics has no limits. If we were to misuse this technology, we could “exacerbate existing inequalities,” “reinforce existing forms of discrimination,” “undermine the foundation of civil and human rights” and more (500). Overall, if the majority of
People should not have access to genetically altering their children because of people’s views on God and their faith, the ethics involving humans, and the possible dangers in tampering with human genes. Although it is many parent’s dream to have the perfect child, or to create a child just the way they want, parents need to realize the reality in genetic engineering. Sometimes a dream should stay a figment of one’s imagination, so reality can go in without the chance of harming an innocent child’s life.
In today’s world, people are learning a great deal in the rapidly growing and developing fields of science and technology. Almost every 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.
Human Genetic Engineering: Designing the Future As the rate of advancements in technology and science continue to grow, ideas that were once viewed as science fiction are now becoming reality. As we collectively advance as a society, ethical dilemmas arise pertaining to scientific advancement, specifically concerning the controversial topic of genetic engineering in humans.
Human genetic engineering can provide humanity with the capability to construct “designer babies” as well as cure multiple hereditary diseases. This can be accomplished by changing a human’s genotype to produce a desired phenotype. The outcome could cure both birth defects and hereditary diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Human genetic engineering can also allow mankind to permanently remove a mutated gene through embryo screening as well as allow parents to choose the desired traits for their children. Negative outcomes of this technology may include the transmission of harmful diseases and the production of genetic mutations. The benefits of human genetic engineering outweigh the risks by providing mankind with cures to multiple deadly diseases.
If genetic technologies were available to the general public, would you do it? Would you accept the option of altering the DNA of your unborn child to fit your every whim and desire? Would you only change certain characteristics, or completely 'design' a new born being? Would you really consider that morally ethical or plausible? In this essay I will explore the idea of whether or not parents should be allowed to use genetic technologies to choose some of their children's characteristics and if yes, what limits should apply to their selection.
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.
Science has taken another step forward into the future of mankind by empowering parents to give their children the best start possible. We are now presented the opportunity to decide what personality and features we want our kids to have before their even born. Although at first glance, it may seem amazing and feel as if you’re picking the exact candy bar you want at a convenient store. However, are we ready for mankind to play, what some might call “God”? Is messing with the genetic code in our babies morally right? Or is it wrong? These are questions being brought up towards the matter of genetically engineering our babies. Danielle Simmons mentioned in the 2008 Nature Education that “Genes influence health and disease, as well as human traits and behavior”. Well genetic engineering on human genes has been going on for a long period of time now. It has also been performed on babies of women who were having trouble conceiving to prevent birth deficiency and help produce a healthy baby. As time went on, scientist became more precise and accurate in the genetic engineering of human genes (Simmons). Scientist is now able to help parents make their baby exactly the way, they prefer. Now that we are able to engineer the genetic code in humans to this extent, we can now produce a healthier generation that will have our ideal traits and behavior.
Biotechnology is a process that involves a controlled or deliberate manipulation of biological systems or life forms. With the aid of scientists, biotechnology has been used to produce genetically modified foods. The term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. (Whitman).The modification of the genetic structure of food is an old concept, one practiced by farmers for thousands of years. By cross breeding different types of crops; mainly crops with good traits, they were able to come up with new organisms that possess desired traits. The problem with that process is that cross-breeding is slow and unpredictable. Today, thanks to progress in biotechnology, scientists are able take a gene from one living organism and put it directly into another plant or animal. This resulted in more precise changes in a shorter period of time. Scientists claim that this new methods created crops that taste better (more nutritious), yield more, repel pests and grow in more difficult conditions. The outcome of this led to cheaper crops that feed billions of people all over the world. This progressive method has revolutionized the way we produce food to feed our growing population. In this paper, I will be defending the motion that biotechnology is ethical. In order to do this, the meaning of ethics must be clarified. Ethics is one branch of philosophy that asks questions about the best human life and how to live 'the good life.' Through ethics, we examine the ch...
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.
Genetic engineering is the gateway into an advanced realm of medicine. A realm where disease can be eradicated. A realm where parents can decide what attributes they want in their offspring. For genetic engineering to reach this point, it will need to become more of an acceptable practice, especially its use in fetuses and infants. These so called “designer babies” are the key for this progression (Britt). Society must just accept and adapt to these medical developments in order for the next step in human evolution to commence.