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Gene Editing Technology Pros And Cons

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The Controversies of Gene Editing Technology

The ability to edit genes is a widely disputed and controversial topic, resulting in many varied opinions between scientists and scholars. It is argued whether or not gene editing technology is safe for all participants, as well as if it is ethical. Some scientists believe that gene editing technology is the next step in evolution of certain science processes, and the future of curing and preventing genetic diseases. Others, however believe, that if gene editing technology is taken too far, it will go beyond the prevention of genetic diseases, allow the creation “perfect” children. The opinions on gene editing technology are varied, and shown through the content and research of this paper. Gene …show more content…

As of 2014, forty countries have banned genome editing. One concern is a safety issue, with the possibility of off-target effects, or edits in the wrong places, along with mosaicism (when some cells carry the genetic edit, but others do not. Also, many people do not support the genetic-editing of human embryos due to moral and religious values. Changes created in a human embryo by gene-editing technology may be passed onto future generations, and “germline cell and embryo genome editing bring up a number of ethical challenges, including whether it would be permissible to use this technology to enhance normal human traits (such as height or intelligence). Based on concerns about ethics and safety, germline cell and embryo genome editing are currently illegal in many countries.”(ghr.nlm.nih.gov) In addition, the National Institute of Health (NIH) will not fund any use of gene-editing in human embryos, and federal funds cannot be used for any research that creates or destroys embryos. Some people also believe that although gene editing technology could prevent genetic diseases, it could be taken too far. This includes scientists using the concept of gene-editing technology to create “perfect children”. To conclude, there are many points on the con-side of gene-editing …show more content…

One argument states that gene-editing technology will be very beneficial to many people by eliminating genetic diseases. “Every year an estimated 7.9 million children - 6% of total births worldwide - are born with a serious birth defect of genetic or partially genetic origin.”(https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/02/why-human-gene-editing-must-not-be-stopped), “An estimated 3.3 million children under the age of 5 die each year from serious birth defects, a worldwide report says. But more effective interventions and the use of medical genetic services, especially in poorer countries, could reduce mortality and disability by up to 70%.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360426/). The use of gene editing could prevent millions of people from having genetic diseases. Gene editing on human embryos can also lead to making disease treatment less expensive. Its could lead to a greater understanding of genetic diseases, and other disease treatments. The knowledge could allow many medicines to be produced more cheaply, allowing medicines to be accessible to more people. “Genetic engineering can be used to improve the drugs available on the marketplace by making them more effective and safer. By using genetic modification scientists can make pharmaceuticals more effective than the existing versions of the medicine. There are already improved versions of insulin for

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As a society we are adapting, changing, and growing every day. Genetic modification is happening; many people are just not aware. Genetic engineering is great for society because it can cause many new advancements for the as in world with no diseases and a world without hunger. “There is a good case for exploring all ideas relevant to our current concerns, no matter where they lead” (Pinker 533). Although no one knows how far genetic enhancing and cloning could go makes it a dangerous idea, does not mean as a society that we ignore it.

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Shame is felt differently by all, throughout different times and for different reasons. In the book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, he illustrates this clearly utilizing stories from the Vietnam War or of moments after. Tim O’Brien himself is a clear example of this, as the experiences he went through and wrote about within various settings in his book capture the theme of shame and what comes with it. Shame has extremely detrimental effects which are displayed many times throughout the story when talking about his experiences before the war, inside of the frontlines, and from a support role within the backlines. O’Brien’s real first instance of shame within the book is displayed before he even joined the war.

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Parents could not only dictate how smart or beautiful their child is, but also the gender. While China and other countries have dabbled in this area of genetic engineering, this is a new and controversial topic in America. The question of morals and whether it is right to change a child’s lineage is something that seriously needs to be considered. Is it acceptable to draw a line at DNA editing just for diseases? What about survivable diseases?

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Religions have a hand in completely blinding communities. In fact, some communities have completely changed their morals, to better accommodate to that of their chosen religious belief. As such, these communities have trouble in differentiating between being reasonable, and of, being unreasonable. Bringing this farther into confrontation is that of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Through that of his characters, Miller expresses ignorance, and of how, it can make a group go against rational thinking, thus, eventually causing the death, and or pain, of others as a result.

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The first step to making this safer should be germline editing in a dish to understand how to reduce risks such as targeting the wrong gene, off-target impacts (which create new problems), and mosaicism (when all copies of the gene were not changed) (Bergman). Given how much is unknown about germline gene editing, it was a shock to the world when a news leak in 2018 revealed Dr. Jiankui He, from the Southern University of Science and Technology, used gene editing to disable CCR5 (a gene involved with the HIV infection) in early embryos. The embryos were then implanted, and twin girls were born. Dr. He’s experiment was criticized for the lack of transparency (National Academies). While most scientists do not support the experiment done by Dr. He, many do support

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As technology advances, more things become possible. One of these things is genetically modifying a baby, this is very wrong. Genetic modifying or genetic engineering is altering someone or something’s DNA. Scientists hope to cure diseases with this method but doing this can lead to some harmful effects. This process is very unethical.

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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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The researchers then combine the broken gene with a healthy gene. This new healthy gene is now modified and free from the mutation it had before. Although many individuals’ ethics and morals stand in the way of gene editing, this technology affects society in many different

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