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Ethical dilemma in genetic testing
Psychology key issues and controversies
Ethical dilemma in genetic testing
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A lot of controversial issues present themselves in psychology. Two topics that I will be discussing in this essay are the controversy over genetic testing and what things would be like without genetic testing. I will be describing what genetic testing is, and how it can affect an individual’s family life. I will be discussing the benefits of genetic counseling, as well as the positives without genetic counseling, and how this issue is debated in a psychological view.
Genetic testing, can affect a person’s life in many ways. Genetic testing is a type of medical testing that identifies changes that occur in chromosomes, proteins, and genes. These changes that occur can be associated, and often are associated with inherited disorders. In order understand genetic testing there has to be a clear understanding of the family history and previous medical records. The process of getting these records takes time and patience; and the records must be evaluated by all relatives involved. Knowing the health history is supposed to be the bases of genetic testing, but it more complicated than that. A lot of people utilize genetic testing because they believe that it is essential to know their own body, or a body that their bringing into the world. Parents can learn a lot of information that may be hard to handle. From there they can plan ahead or make difficult decisions. People may like to know problems or occurrences ahead of time, so they can figure out how to handle the situation taken into course. This may give parents a peace of mind and a sense of relief if they think there is a problem that has occurred. This can also help with future family planning, and how to handle future situations (Murza).
A perfect example of a fam...
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..., it shows that it is a main topic known in society. Even if genetic testing and not going through genetic testing can both be beneficial to society, it is a major controversy brought to the public’s eye.
References
Hawkins, A. K., & Ho, A. (2012). Genetic counseling and the ethical issues around direct to consumer genetic testing. Journal Of Genetic Counseling, 21(3), 367-373. doi:10.1007/s10897-012-9488-8
Murza, Tanya. Elizabeth, Stark. Edelson, Vaughn. (2012). Genetic alliance: should i consider genetic testing for my child?. : Global Communications, Inc..
Steventon, Jessica. (2009). A silent angel's story. : Global Communications, Inc.
Tarquinio, D. C., & Percy, A. K. (2011). Rett syndrome. In E. Hollander, A. Kolevzon, J. T. Coyle (Eds.) , Textbook of autism spectrum disorders (pp. 107-115). Arlington, VA US: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
Rett syndrome is often misdiagnosed as autism, cerebral palsy, or a nonspecific developmental delay. Children with Rett syndrome tend to exhibit autistic-like behaviors
What are the risks and limitations of genetic testing?. (2014, April 21). Genetics Home Reference, Retrieved from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/testing/riskslimitations
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).
Genetic Screening is a medical test that examines ones DNA. It can find mutations in chromosomes, genes, and proteins. These tests can confirm or refute a suspected genetic condition that could become a serious problem for one in the future. They can also help figure out a persons probability of getting certain diseases or sicknesses like cancer or diabetes. ( What is Genetic Testing?, para 1) There is also carrier testing which can be used to see what diseases couples may carry before having children. (What are the benefits of genetic testing? Para 1)
Family history possesses valuable information about a person’s past and future life. It can be used as a powerful screening tool to help conduct decisions about genetic testing for you and family members at risk. Family history can identify potential health problems that an individual has an increased risk for in their lifetime. With early identification, you can begin taking steps to reduce the risk with things such as lifestyle changes of diet and exercise. In many cases, just by adopting a healthier lifestyle can reduce your risk for diseases that run in your family.
Genetic testing has been a very controversial topic. While some people believe that genetic testing is completely right in any situation, others believe that it is completely wrong in any situation. However, both sides prove valid points of why genetic testing is both right and wrong. Genetic testing can be very good when it is being used for helpful reasons. However, genetic testing can also be very bad when it is used for the wrong reasons. Genetic testing is okay to do as long as it is being done for the right reasons and following good moral guidelines.
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.
Rochman, Bonnie. "Genetic Testing for Kids: Is It a Good Idea?" Time. Time, 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2014. .
The desire to have a "normal" child is held by every parent and only now are we beginning to have the ability to select for that child. In preparation to receiving genetic testing, the parents are required to meet with a genetic counselor. A detailed description of the testing methods are reviewed with the couple as well as the risks which are involved with each. Upon an understanding of the procedures, the counselor discusses the many possible outcomes which could be the result of the diagnosis. Finally, before any tests are performed, anxieties from either of the parents are addressed as well as the psychological well-being of the parents.
Murphy, Samantha. "Genetic Tests Debate: Is Too Much Info Bad for Your Health?"LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 19 Dec. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
In their research article, “Genetic modification and genetic determinism”, David B. Resnik and Daniel B. Vorhaus argue that all the nonconsequentialist arguments against genetic modification are faulty because of the assumption that all the traits are strongly genetically determined, which is not the case. Resnik and Vorhaus dispel four arguments against genetic modification one-by-one. The freedom argument represents three claims: genetic modification prevents the person who has been modified from making free choices related to the modified trait, limits the range of behaviors and life plans, and interferes with the person 's ability to make free choices by increasing parental expectations and demands (Resnik & Vorhaus 5). The authors find this argument not convincing, as genes are simply not “powerful” enough to deprive a person of free choice, career and life options. In addition to that, they argue that parental control depends not on genetic procedure itself, but rather on parents’ basic knowledge of what the results of the modification should be. In a similar fashion, the giftedness arguments, which states that “Children are no longer viewed as gifts, but as
Genetic testing is the process of sequencing six billion letters of a human genome to possibly discover genetic differences, such as how cells carry the same genome but at the same time look and function different. Genetic testing is also the process that can give foresight into pathological diseases such as different types of cancer.
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.
Genetic testing has become very popular as technology has improved, and has opened many doors in the scientific community. Genetic testing first started in 1866 by a scientist known as, Gregor Mendel, when he published his work on pea plants. The rest was history after his eyes opening experiments on pea plants. However, like any other scientific discovery, it bought conflicts which caused major controversies and a large population disagreed with the concept of playing with the genetic codes of human beings. Playing God was the main argument that people argument that people had against genetics. genetic testing became one of the major conflicts conflicts to talk about, due to the fact that parents could now have the option of deciding if they
... idea to take part in. Genetic testing can lead to a global preparation for parents to look out for their children. The genetic test results can determine so much for the children and what they might get passed down to them whether its diabetes, cancer, or any other illness or disease.