The Pros And Cons Of Gene Editinging

The fear of the unknown has always been an attribute ingrained in human nature. Some might even say it is in our DNA. That fear of the unknown has been an integral part of science ever since early philosophers and scientists began to discuss the stars, the earth and human disease. That fear has stalled scientific progress for decades at a time and lead to incarceration and even death sentences for many scientists. From that fear emerged the field of bioethics. Bioethics emerged roughly twenty years ago and has been used as a method to both investigate and study ways in which decisions in science and medicine affect society. In recent years one topic that has been at the epicenter of that fear and has been a focus of bioethics is human

The researched published by the Chinese scientists did show that current gene editing techniques may lead to a large number of mutations that could cause significant mutations in children born from this research ( ). Genes serve multiple roles, many of which scientists do not yet understand, therefore, it is very possible that by replacing one gene with another may cause unpredicted mutations. Although the results of the research show a high risk of mutations, many scientists believe that does not mean there should be ban on this type of research. Currently, there is already unanimous agreement among the scientific community that experiments with high risk of harm to the patient should not be

The primary concern about gene editing for the general public is designer babies. The artificial selection of specific genes through genetic engineering and in vitro fertilization is known as creating “designer babies.” The idea is that traits such as gender, height, eye color, intelligence, disease and personality can be preselected through gene editing. In lamens terms, being able to design and choose which type of baby you want. This fear is not completely unfounded. Scientists have been able to successfully select for certain traits while cloning animals. Scientists are now thinking that they can use this technology that had been designed for animals on humans. There are several pros and cons within this one specific facet of gene-editing.
One of the largest concerns associated with designer babies that it will be a technology that will only accessible to the rich. If this technology is not properly regulated and it becomes a commodity that is only available to wealthy individuals then inequalities between the rich and the poor could grow exponentially, creating unimaginable consequences around the world. There would be a distinct difference between humans who had undergone genetic engineering and those that had