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In Vitro Fertilization In The Movie Gattaca

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In 1997, Columbia pictures released the film GATTACA. GATTACA is a futuristic film that stresses the genetic makeup of humans. In the film, the “normal” way of conceiving a child is through in vitro fertilization. The main character, Vincent, is naturally conceived, and since he is susceptible to many diseases, including heart defects and myopia, he is labeled an invalid. As an invalid, he is not able to pursue his dream of going to space and can only find work as a janitor at the Gattaca Space Station. He finds a crippled valid willing to donate his DNA named Jerome Morrow. Jerome supplies the blood, urine, hair, skin, and DNA samples needed for Vincent to obtain a programming job at Gattaca. As Vincent’s journey to space approaches, a homicide …show more content…

In GATTACA, the social norm is to go to geneticists and allow them to fertilize the egg and sperm so that the child will have the least likely chance of diseases and the most likely chance for success. It is understood that the genome is not changed; however, the most successful genes are chosen from the parents’ genome for each trait, “this child is still you, simply, the best of you” (Niccol, 1997). Today’s standards allow in vitro fertilization only for couples who may be infertile. Embryo DNA is also tested for certain diseases through preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). PGD is intended for couples at high risk of having children with certain genetic disorders. It is not intended to choose one sex over another; however, clinics in the United States have stated that they let parents choose the sex without any medical reason (Jabr, 2013). In today’s society, in vitro fertilization of babies without disorders is frowned upon; however, once in vitro fertilization of any baby was frowned upon. Science is constantly changing the standards of society. With new technology and facts comes new opinions. As scientists learn how the human body works, they test hypotheses on individuals. Individuals are to be told about the experiment and they must agree to be a part of the experiment. Embryos do not give consent to doctors to alter their DNA. As scientists research and develop new technologies, they must understand the ethics and feelings of

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From the Henrietta situation it seems that more change gave been implemented to fix this major issue. But with every situation, there are loopholes that are evident in these consents. Hoeyer and Hogle state “Absence of proper consent is currently being construed as an ‘intolerable.’ Policies enforcing the consent requirement assume that there is a universal subject, that all subjects weigh information and make “informed” choices similarly, and that they “voluntarily” participate with similar expectations” (352). The question of ethics that is raised is what rights do individuals have over their own blood, tissue and cells when it is being used in research.

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In this case, the informed consent of the subjects was not fully attained as researchers used misinformation to encourage participation in otherwise detrimental studies. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, author Rebecca Skloot references a similar case in which a researcher named Chester Southam injected prisoners with cancer cells. Like researchers in the Tuskegee experiments, Southam did not thoroughly explain his research “[as] patients might have refused to participate in his study if they’d known what he was injecting” (Skloot 13). In addition to promoting ethical research, informed consent strengthens the trust between researchers and donors. When researchers seek permission before experimenting on biospecimen, they remain trustable figures to donors.

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Medi-Cult Case Analysis Medi-Cult, a biotech company based in Denmark, has developed a new alternative to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) called In Vitro Maturation (IVM). These methods are used to help infertile couples have children. IVM significantly reduces the time needed to mature an egg from 30 days to just 2 days. Importantly, it is a relatively hormone-free treatment thus sparing women a number of psychological and physical side effects. Because the side-effects tend to be much-lessened, women at risk from hormone-related condition such as polycystic ovaries are offered the option of safer fertility treatment.

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‘Gattaca’ is a strong example of science fiction genre. Andrew Niccole’s film explores a society in which science, genetic engineering and perfection are worshipped and has successfully divided people into ‘valids’ and ‘invalids’ based on a reading of their DNA . This film acts as a kind of lesson for current audience , because it depicts a future corrupted by technology .Gattaca focus on the futuristic use of technology to determine the future of an individual by their DNA extracted from birth and the implications it has .The increased focus on technology has decreased human element.

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Over the years, there have been many controversial issues surrounding medical research, but one of the most arguable topics of all time is the use of embryonic stem cells. Some individuals believe that extracting stem cells from unborn babies will be useful to create new medications or, in most cases, help regenerate damaged cells. Although, many people disagree with the process scientists use to obtain these stem cells. By continuing embryonic stem cell research, scientists are denying an unborn child the chance to live, they are not letting nature take its intended course, and they are not adhering to the religious or moral beliefs of many people.

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In 1932, Aldous Huxley imagined and wrote about a world where designer baby technology is prevalent in his science-fiction novel, Brave New World. The technology would not come until many years later, but his ideas still hold up today. In the book, there were different classes depending on how genetically modified one was, including Alpha or Beta (“The Public Should Oppose Designer Baby Technology”). Outside of science fiction, though, is real science where an actual baby can be genetically modified before even being born. A designed baby is one that is purposefully shaped to be one way or another through processes including In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), where an egg is fertilized and genetically altered, and preimplantation genetic diagnosis

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However, many scientists say this is already possible in a much safer and less invasive way. It is far easier to genetically screen embryos for high-risk versions of genes following in vitro fertilization and prior to implantation in the mother. Not to mention, we already practice this as a society, for example, when smart rich people marry other smart rich people, they usually produce another generation of smart rich people; which is known as assortative mating. Another example is when a mother aborts a fetus that has a genetic defect, or when IVF

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This procedure’s purpose is to switch out genes for more preferred ones, especially to improve the health of the child. Genetic engineering could permit selection of desired physical and pleasurable traits for non-medical reasons, which has created concern in some people. The process of switching out the genes of a fetus to install genes that are more preferred has brought up debate about whether or not parents should be able to alter their babies genes to make them more appealing to the parents interests. There are many different ways of looking at this procedure and in contrast to other scientific procedures it can be for greater good or for unnecessary enhancement that could potentially create problems in society. Designer babies aren’t morally correct or incorrect, but are in between depending on what it is being used for.

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Everyone is entitled to choose their own lifestyle, whether they want to have a child or not. Some females who seek to have children find it easy, although some are unfortunate. There are numerous of reasonings, such as being too old to be pregnant, damage to the Fallopian tube or uterus and cancer radiation or chemotherapy. As our generation goes on, many discoveries revolving biology is produced and one of it is the In Vitro Fertilization or “IVF”. It is the procedure of fertilization where they save sperm sample, take an egg from the women and physically combining it in a laboratory dish where the egg and the sperm is now called an embryo.

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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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