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The Pros And Cons Of Fingerprinting

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Should DNA profiling (fingerprinting) be administered to people at birth?
DNA profiling or now known as STR (Short Tandem Repeat) analysing is the process used to manipulate genes from both paternal and maternal genes received at child birth to build a ‘fingerprint’. These ‘fingerprints’ are unique to one organism because humans have different genes (genotypes) that code for their phenotype (physical appearance). STR analyses has many uses, including paternity testing, forensic sciences, and identification of individuals. Even though STR analysis has many uses, one of the major ethical issues concerning this process is privacy. This is because if it were able for public use, then it could affect what types of jobs an individual can get and …show more content…

The main concern that people have about the data base is that it may grow from just holding information on convicted criminals to a wider group of people. Because the is a possibility many people are concerned about privacy and that this information can be used by insurance companies to prevent coverage on people. This is because these companies can have access to the people’s genetic disorders. In 2012 due to these concerns, the UK passed a Protection of Freedoms Bill where, 1,766,000 DNA profiles taken from innocent adults and children were deleted from the database, along with 1,672,000 fingerprint records. In addition to this, 7,753,000 DNA samples (480,000 from children) containing sensitive personal biological material were destroyed. Another negative point is the possibility of DNA manipulation getting out of hand. DNA fingerprinting could lead to the production of 'Designer Babies' where if the DNA fingerprint of an unborn baby does not suit the parent’s life style. Therefore, if further developments to DNA fingerprinting is made the parents can change their babies’ DNA to produce ‘Designer Babies’ which better suits them. If designer babies are allowed to be made it could lead to a population of genes of these babies that could lead super

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Who Was She? A DNA Test Only Opened New Mysteries Libby Copeland, in “Who Was She? A DNA Test Only Opened New Mysteries,” discusses the increased popularity of DNA testing, the process, and the impact the results can have on the people who choose this path. In the article, Copeland effectively uses structure, tone, word choice and other rhetoric devices to establish her purpose of informing her readers about the effects of DNA testing. Copeland writes the article not only to inform, but also to engage and interest the general public, or anyone considering DNA testing.

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The main issue people have with DNA tests is privacy. An individual's DNA is immensely more exclusive than a social security number and in the wrong hands, your life could be at risk. If a database filled with millions of DNA samples from people all around the world; it takes only one person to breach the “security” and peoples DNA would then be readily available to anyone in the public. People can potentially analyze your DNA and see what bacteria or viruses your DNA is most vulnerable to, and use it against you. Additionally insurance companies could potentially obtain the results of a DNA test and see that you have an incredibly high probability of developing breast cancer.

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1670 Words | 7 Pages

Everyone responsible for collecting and using data has to follow strict rules called ‘data protection principles’. They must make sure that the information that is collected is kept safe and secure is accurate

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Copeland carefully selects words in the introduction to emphasize an overall nonchalance in compiling such comprehensive information, “Over the past five years, as the price of DNA testing kits has dropped and their quality has improved, the phenomenon of ‘recreational genomics’ has taken off,” (Copeland). The use of “recreational” suggests the practice of gathering broad scientific information lacks gravity. In fact, the author contrasts the word with more levity with the use of “genomics”, a concrete science that affects the structure and function of genetic information. The dramatic usage indicates to the audience that users of DNA testing are incapable of understanding all possible consequences of accessible genetic testing. Traditions of past generations provide a foundation for the identity of future generations.

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1172 Words | 5 Pages

Fingerprinting is method based on the uniqueness of the skin pattern - that is, each person has a completely individual pattern of papillary lines. These patterns do not change throughout life and have the property of recovering from damage to the skin in its previous form. On the one hand, this method almost completely eliminates the mistake, and on the other hand it is very cheap and easy to use (in contrast the method of identification of a person by DNA). Fingerprinting allows: 1) to identify the person who left the prints, according to the general and particular features of the papillary pattern displayed on them; 2) to exclude individual from among those who have touched the object; 3) to narrow the group of individuals suspected of the particular crime (for instance, provided that the imprint shows traces of a scar, a burn, a wart or some other distinctive feature).

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573 Words | 3 Pages

For instance, in the event in which law enforcement needs to investigate criminal acts to prove someone innocent or guilty. For example Maryland vs King which states that when a police officer arrest someone because they have a suspect of a serious offence , they make need a cheek swab to rove that the suspect is innocent or guilty because of DNA left at the crime scene. Another positive outcome is that your doctors will be able to detect genetic diseases or cancer and treat it before it becomes a problem or takes effect. Although there are many positive outcomes there is a law that does protect you genome. The Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act or GINA protects the genetic privacy of the public.

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While there are many arguments out there as to why an individual who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime should have his or her DNA collected, we must not only look at the practicality of this, but also the facts. A law of this magnitude could open the flood gates to a massive invasion of privacy. Many supporters of this law claim oftentimes misdemeanor convicts go on to commit more serious crimes, so having their DNA in the system will help identify them sooner if they commit a crime. This invasion of privacy not only assumes that a misdemeanor convict will become a serious convict in the future,

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Law enforcement agencies should not be permitted to maintain DNA databases on the population. Yes, I understand the governments purpose of wanting a database to help with investigations and catching criminals, however, investigators could easily misuse the information and suspect an innocent person. If a database were to be created, the government would hold a large amount of power in their hands, which would contain private information on all citizens. The government would have control over its citizens. Collecting DNA from everyone and using it to convict both the innocent and criminals is unethical.

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This could be fatal because then a person could be wrongly convicted of a crime or even let free if he committed the crime and who knows if he won’t do it again? ● The equipment used in forensic testing can be very expensive and will cost a lot of money. ● Misleading or false DNA can easily be placed at the crime scene. As a result the wrong person will be arrested and the people who actually committed is still running around free. ● The DNA information is on a computer and can be vulnerable to exploitation from hackers.

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954 Words | 4 Pages

The result will hurt the environment kids grow, as uniqueness, individuality and distinctiveness will slowly disappear. Genetic engineered babies are still being experienced. The whole method is allowing parents to chose their kids’ traits and pick the way they want the baby to look. In order to achieve that, doctors will remove sections of someone's DNA, and they will replace them with new segments.

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The Enlightenment or also known as the Age of Reason was from the mid 1680’s up until the early 19th century. The Age of reason took place all of the world anywhere from Switzerland, to Scotland, to Germany, to America, and so forth. The Enlightenment was mainly about using reason to understand and believe things. It began to push individuals to stop just believing what the Christian and Catholic churches had to say about things and begin to question them them and want factual information to prove them. The Enlightenment can be broken down into three main parts which are the ‘Early Enlightenment’ which took place from 1685 throughout 1730, the ‘High Enlightenment’ which took place from 1730 throughout 1780, and finally the ‘Late Enlightenment’ which took place from 1730 up until 1815 where it later ended.

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This can lead to genetic defects, it limits genetic diversity, and it can be taken to very extreme levels. ` To start us off, genetically engineering a baby can be very unsafe for it and lead to genetic defects. Scientists don’t know everything about the human body yet, and because of this, if we end up modifying something, it could end up affecting something important that we didn’t know about. We also can’t predict the outcome of the modification yet. Scientists could be able to possibly knock out a disease out of our genetic code, but since we don’t

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2058 Words | 9 Pages

Should the U.S government regulate genetic testing? Gene testing is a type of medical test that identifies changes in chromosomes, genes, or proteins. The results of a genetic test can confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition or help determine a person's chance of developing or passing on a genetic disorder. This essay will discuss gene testing being regulated by the U.S government, as the U.S government is the most up-to-date country in terms of gene testing and they have multiple active genetic testing businesses, with regards to strong ethically based laws surrounding them. The ethical issues surrounding gene testing that will be discussed are; whether or not the federal government should take full control over genetic testing,

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1661 Words | 7 Pages

Today’s society operates on multiple platforms and each of those platforms reveals information about our identity, our habits and our values. Those qualities of our being are valuable to entities like corporations and the government and they aspire to acquire such information to improve their own functionality. All of those things can be extracted from the technology around us that we interact with directly or indirectly every day. As the aforementioned entities implement technologies such as facial recognition and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), our private lives are unknowingly becoming more public than we would have ever imagined. These new technologies bring about a lot of concern when it comes to putting every detail of an individual’s

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The Effect of Genomic Testing on Families and Individuals Genetic testing has given scientists and doctors much knowledge into the way disease processes work and has improved the efficacy of treating them. While there are many positive outcomes with genetic testing, there are also some negative ways families and individuals can be impacted. Some ethical dilemmas involving family and genetic testing are: should newborn testing be mandatory or voluntary, do parents have the right to make the decision to have his/her child get genetic testing in adolescent and adult onset conditions, and is the risk to benefit ratio balanced with these tests (Holaday, 2004). In newborn genetic screening the main issue is whether it should be a voluntary

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