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Discuss The Pros And Cons Of Eugenics

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QUESTION 1: Eugenics is a growing field of study that opens up the possibility of eliminating genetic diseases in the human population. Discuss the pros and cons of eugenics in determining characteristics of offspring and thereby changing future populations.

One reason to support the use of genetic information in reproduction is the potential for children to be disease-free and develop without medical hindrances. The American medical community has worked tediously to eliminate diseases through vaccines and various medical interventions; naturally, most believe the practice of screening embryos for genetic diseases is an “ethical” one. The practice of Eugenics becomes muddier when we consider accessibility, diversity and intention.

The benefits of prenatal genetic testing are undeniable when it comes to the elimination of genetic diseases. Preimplantation genetic haplotyping (PGH) - a technology that works in tandem with in vitro fertilization (IVF) - can determine the presence of disease before an embryo is even implanted for pregnancy; thus, those with genetic diseases can biologically reproduce without the possibility of their children inheriting the same diseases. Despite the necessity of prenatal genetic testing for the genetically vulnerable population, when healthy subjects begin to use the same technology, Eugenics starts …show more content…

In an aim to create the perfect child, parents could ultimately create new defects, limit the gene pool, and cause negative social dynamics for the population with traits deemed “less desirable.” The bottom line: there is not enough available research or information regarding the long-term impacts of genetic modification to confidently adopt the practice for usage beyond disease elimination. In conclusion, Eugenics is unethical and potentially dangerous when applied on a broad scale; at this time, Eugenics should only be used to eliminate diseases when completely

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Research Paper Rough Draft- Eugenics The amazing thing about the world today is the rapidly changing society, and the contemporary technology. Something that scientist have been working to perfect for many years is the modernization of eugenics. It is changing the way people are born by selecting specific traits for an individual to be smarter, stronger, more attractive and many other traits. Many parents of the new generation are willing to try the science of eugenics for their child to be customized to them.

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It is impressive that this idea originated from a period of time where there was little knowledge about genes. In conclusion, the idea of eugenics develops during the progressive era and it affect many people during this period of time. This idea of eugenics was where more progress occurs in science. Well not all about the idea of eugenics is bad is has some good points like it can reduce number of babies born with some mental illness or some with really bad illness.

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Unfortunately, the Eugenics Movement is still alive today in The United States in the form of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). To grasp a better understanding of this movement, the ART policies will be scrutinized, major concerns will be

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As discussed in the article, the ethical issues surrounding pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PES) are genetic fatalism and the 'new' eugenics movement. Drawing on these concepts and my stance on the interconnection between Eugenics and PES, this essay argues that selecting genetic traits through PES is unethical. This essay's argument will be achieved by first discussing the context of the article. Secondly, in an isolated analysis, I will discuss how genetic essentialism and fatalism can potentially undermine the autonomy and dignity of individuals whilst using a phenomenological framework and discussing choices involved in one's life. Then I will discuss the issue of 'new' eugenics, a free market system of eugenics, which can lead to further social inequalities for those deemed less desirable.

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“A lie told often enough becomes the truth. ”- (Vladimir Lenin). Although the definition of eugenics is, “the study of how to arrange heritable characteristics regarded as desirable,” its outcome always ends in destruction. In breeding, anti miscegenation laws, birth control, sterilization, abortion, and infanticide all stem from Eugenics.

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The United States eugenics movement of the early twentieth century was a movement that tied the advancement of society to the good genes of its citizens. Francis Galton coined the term eugenics as “the science of improving stock” in 1883 (Wikler 184). Supporters of eugenics created a group of laws that forcibly prevented people with disabilities from reproducing through institutionalization, involuntary sterilization, and euthanasia (Wikler). Although the eugenics movement ended, recent debates over prenatal testing have revived the term. Prenatal testing refers to “all the technologies currently in use or under development to determine the physi(ologi)cal condition of a fetus before birth”

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Domesticated plants and animals are an important part of human life, and without eugenics there would be none. However, the validity of eugenics being used on people has been debated from a moral perspective since its creation, but even if it was morally justified eugenics would not work the way people expect it would. According to Merriam-Webster, the full definition of eugenics is, “a science that deals with the improvement (as by control of human mating) of hereditary qualities of a race or breed,” (Merriam-Webster). What must be noted is that, along with the improvement of some hereditary qualities there is detriment to others. Despite its usefulness in developing domesticated plants and animals, eugenics is not a viable option for improving

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Therefore, if two parents are carriers of a certain gene that will disable their child, they can modify that gene to make a child that will not have that disability. As well as some parents will have designer babies to save another child they already have with a certain disease. In this method, parents will choose their child’s blood type and such in order for them to match that other diseased child and potentially give them their blood, marrow, and even organs. Genetically modifying a child’s chance of disease ensures that a child may live a life without potential disease and disability that they may have been more prone to had their parents’ not used this method. This also ensures a healthy life for a child that had a greater potential of having a medical condition due to their parents being carriers of that particular gene.

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There are a few appealing aspects to the act of eugenics. If eugenics were applied, the world could potentially see a decrease in disease, a rise in intelligence, and heightened physical aesthetic in humans. But, ethically it crosses many boundaries that have prevented this idea from going into world-wide effect in the past. A benefit to eugenics is it could lead to the reduction of genetic diseases in the gene pool.

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Eugenics could make the human race more tough in terms of surviving epidemics or apocalyptic conditions which could wipe us off the face of the Earth as it is an attempt to improve the human gene pool .It could get rid of genetic diseases(from common ones like type 1 diabetes to severe ones like cystic fibrosis) which cause grief to family members, reduce quality of life and costs a lot of maintain life or treat, furthermore it could greatly increase our lifespan which is all good individually but it may have consequences as a species since competition for already scarce resources may increase if the birth rate is not controlled (is that ethical as well?), overpopulation could cause a greater anthropogenic pollution of the Earth leading to our doom which started off as a way to improve our lifestyle could lead to more industry to support the higher population leading to larger ozone holes more melting of polar icecaps and higher rising of sea levels and more cases of skin cancer. We would be playing god, altering a sort of natural cycle which regulates the population or cause a frenzy where everyone wants perfection where there could be discrimination where people can’t afford or are in no situation to receive the advantages of eugenics. In this case we should make eugenics widely and cheaply available but a question arises whether that is practically possible. Therefore eugenics also touches on other controversial topics like IVF, PID an

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Editing of the human genome in the past has been only a sight seen in dystopia works such as Brave New World. Now, genetic enhancement is a prevalent today and people are beginning to realize the issues that can arise from creating these designer babies. Gene editing can be helpful to eradicate life changing disabilities. Yet, the term disability does not correctly label these differently abled people, as the idea of what is considered disabled has changed overtime. To fully understand the consequences and implications of genetic selection and enhancement of human embryos, society must mature and declare lines of what is and is not ethically moral.

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“The main arguments against genetic modification of human embryos are that it would be unsafe and unfair, and that modification would quickly go beyond efforts to reduce the incidence of inherited maladies” (Caplan). During the altering genes in the mother 's womb cause a lot of dangerous situations and

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