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Pros And Cons Of Genetic Modification

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Ethical principles are social or civil codes of behaviour considered to be correct within a society by individuals. They differ in various contexts and situations as seen through the various spectrums of ethics such as, technological ethics, biomedical ethics and social ethics. For this essay, I will be focusing on the field of biomedical ethics but on types of genetic modification whereby genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques for the betterment of society’s welfare. I will be analysing the arguments for genetic modification in two tiers, ’designer babies’ and genetically modified food, both of which have been the cause of controversy within the bioethics field. The controversy stems from the experimentation on human life and possibly the compromise of the public’s safety. However, one must consider whether the ends truly justify the …show more content…

Throughout this essay, I will be analysing the arguments for and against genetic modification and whether the results justifies the collateral damage. If one had the option to eradicate risks of severe health disorders such as Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s from one’s unborn offspring, why would one evade the opportunity to do so? This can be ensured through the process of ‘designer babies’. The gene editing or mitochondrion donation selects a baby’s genetic make-up in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present. However, this procedure is not limited to solely expanding one’s life-span, the option of dictating one’s child’s sex, appearance and character traits are also available. With this process available, parents are able to select preferred traits that would be ideal for their child. In spite of all the

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To have the option of creating a baby that has all of the characteristics and traits that a parent desires with the use of genetic technology appears to be great idea, if it can be accomplished responsibly. What must be looked at is not only how the use of genetic technology can be used, but also how it may be controlled. In this paper I will examine the use of genetic technology in humans, and why it cannot be conducted responsibly by referring to the views of Tenzin Gyatso the author of “Ethics and the New Genetics” who believes that genetic technology must involve ethics, moral compass and compassion, and also Debora L. Spar the author of “Designing Babies” who believes that in order for genetic technology to be done responsibly rules and

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As The Director is giving a tour of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning center, Mr. Foster tells the students about how the babies become who they are. He says, “We also predestine

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Ethics of Genegeneering Investigate and discuss how a society based on producing ‘designer babies’ may or may not create more happiness and greater benefits for the greater number of people. Refer to the film Gattaca, Jeremy Bentham’s Hedonic calculus, the principles of Utilitarianism and the work of Emmanuel Kant in your discussion. One of the most interesting biomedical advances in recent years, which also brings about great social repercussion is preimplantation genetic screening, which has two uses, producing babies free of genetic or hereditary diseases and the production of so called ‘designer babies.’ The 1997 film Gattaca addresses the ethical issues as well as social repercussions brought about from preimplantation genetic screening

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Julian Savulescu illustrates the ethics of genetic enhancements by focusing on a means of helping people, who are naturally limited in life, to live a longer and/or better life than normal through genetic enhancement. First, he offers three arguments in favor of genetically enhancing human beings; those being to choose not to enhance is wrong for our children’s betterment, biological interventions are no different than genetic interventions, and there is no difference between genetic enhancement and treating a disease. Then, he continues to justify how we should indicate what qualities in our genes should be decided to enhance. Throughout this section, the author exemplifies different methods of how humans have decided on this, such as pre-modern and modern eugenics, and the Nazis. Additionally, the author argues that genetic enhancement should be a part of the principle of procreative

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In medicine, genetic engineering consist of inserting DNA into an organism to add a characteristic the organism did not possess, or take out a damaged part of DNA to treat a genetic disorder. Although genetic engineering, also known as gene therapy, is used to try and improve the quality of life with applications in food and medicine; the moral dilemma of gene therapy is one of playing God, considering genetic engineering changes the DNA in organisms, which can be argued that changing DNA is a job for God alone; even if it improves the quality of someone’s life by producing “better” food and prevented possible genetic disorders. The more prominent moral dilemma in genetic engineering is on the horizon as genetic engineering will be used for enhancement, such as choosing the genomes that parent’s future children have, thus creating “designer babies”. Genetic engineering is arguably the most unethical branch of biomedical engineering due to the fact that not only does it cross the treatment versus enhancement boundary but also because it is the closest to playing God that anyone has ever been by deliberately changing the makeup of human

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There is a heated debate among scientists, bioethicists, politicians, and citizens worldwide about the limitations, if any; that should be set on genetic engineering in the human reproductive domain. Potential parents, future lawmakers, and medical professionals will be decisive in the future of genetically designed children. Hopefully, the evidence presented in this paper will conclusively demonstrate that designer babies have an unfair advantage in society, and will ultimately skew its balance. Eugenics, the

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One of the debate regarding genetic manipulation is how far are we willing to go in terms of changing a person’s gene. Richards Hayes who wrote “Genetically Modified Human? No Thanks” said that “if we modified one gene in the human being, what stops us from doing it thirty, fifty, or hundred times”(573). Hayes also expresses that “at what point our children becomes artificially designed species, and not a member of your family”(573). He also mention concerns as to the technology race between the companies if the technology was to get a commercial marketing of human genetic modifications.

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Arguments in Favor There are a number of arguments that have been proposed in favor of allowing genomic editing via CRISPR/Cas9. This technology offers couples who either face infertility or who themselves suffer from a heritable disease, or are a carrier, the choice to genetically engineer their children so that they are at minimal risk for disease. Using the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) screening, discussed previously, doctors are able to share information with prospective parents, and help them to make informed decisions in regards to selecting which embryo will have the greatest chance of survival and living a healthy life [2]. For couples who themselves suffer from a genetic condition, and use PGD as a means to have a child

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The human body is inherently flawed. Every person, no matter their background, is born with a couple of genetic disorders, whether they are visible or not. However, scientists have come to a point where they might be able to alter and correct these genetic disorders through the application of gene therapy, where a disorder or disease is corrected by the insertion of a gene into a cell rather than using antibiotics (“What is Gene Therapy”). Despite the extraordinary benefits gene therapy could have for the world’s population, developing the practice has been plagued by difficulties and questions of ethics.

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Genetic engineering has been a controversial subject for years. The possibility of extending it to include the irreversible editing of human genomes has even made the situation worse. While a number of experts describe the technology as an important step in the right direction with regard to solving some of the most pressing medical puzzles, many other raise concerns over the negative effects that the technology may have on the future generations and the society at large in terms of the ethical concerns and the risks involved. Proponents of human genome modification have for a long time employed different strategies in organizing their arguments in support of the technology. For instance, they make distinctions based on the intentions, the

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Genetic Modifications Genetic Modification is a change or substitution caused by human activity in the DNA (the substance that responsible about the appearance of the organism). Genetic modification was accomplished for the first time in 1973 by Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer. Some scientists in countries around the world aspire applying this technology on plants and humans. Now some countries like USA, Argentina, Brazil, Canada and China allow their scientists to make researches on genetic modification; which will allow unpredictable effects occur by this technology. Genetic engineering is a potentially and powerful very dangerous tool.

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However, what can determine how far is within ethical guidelines. With the all the technological advances today’s society has grown accustomed to having access to almost anything. Nevertheless, like topics of pro-choice vs pro-life and gun control this has many at odds and at both ends of the spectrum, debating whether genetic testing and/or genetic engineering is ethical? The following essay will explore the evidence as well as the rebuttals and answer that very question. While, the line may seem fine to many the idea of protecting future generations from potentially debilitating diseases is hard to ignore.

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Genetic engineering, or genetic modification, is the process of manually adding new DNA to an organism in order to improve or develop certain traits in that organism. Over the past 100 years, people’s views have changed from rejection and denial, to complete acceptance of this process. At first, transplanting genes from one organism to another seemed like an immoral, unnecessary and a disruption in nature’s work – along with the many unavoidable risks. However, as technology advanced, people began to view genetic engineering in a new light, and slowly began to recognize the benefits that came along with it. In regards to whether or not genetic engineering is ethical, Utilitarianism and Deontological viewpoints differ to a great extent, as

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Gene therapy is a topic of debate that has numerous moral dangers because of its ability to alter the genes in the body, which violates the beliefs of many environmentalists and people with strong religious faiths. These moral dangers began with a simple genetic alteration of organisms, such as crops, however the lack of development in the modification of human genes is the only aspect stopping gene therapy from one of the largest disputes: demolishing the original nature of the human race. Since technology is continuously becoming more advanced , gene therapy could consequently have the ability to amend genes in ways that even scientists begin to question the moral dangers that come with research. Human embryo research, germ-line engineering

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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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