The Pros And Cons Of Genetic Engineering

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

The procedure opens the door to the possibility of the modification of human traits that are not in any way associated with medical problems. When this becomes a possibility, the good intentions of the procedure may be hijacked by malicious individuals who have the intention of genetically manufacturing a superior human species to establish a world order (Shanks 45). This can be utterly depressing as the scientific technique can be the cause of the social upheavals that may threaten even the existence of the society. For instance, altering human traits to introduce some traits such as athleticism in some individuals will have detrimental implications in some societal activities such as games. The fact that some individuals will be in a position to outperform others not because they deserve it, but due to the fact that they have been genetically modified to do so will impact negatively on competitive sports (Rothstein 67). Altering human traits to accord certain people an unfair advantage over other people will totally make the society chaotic and cause major problems for the future generations who will have to exist in a very unfair and unequal

If this prospect is a possibility, the future generations may be completely at a point of disadvantage in that they will have to suffer severely (Andrews 98). Some conditions that are easily curable now may advance as a result of attempts to adapt to the changes in the genomes and mutate into incurable conditions. If this tragedy occurs, the intentions of genetic scientists to use inheritable genetic modification as a way of curing disease may emerge as self-defeating. According to Willer (78), the chances of some diseases mutating into incurable states as a result of the attempt to adapt to the changes in human genetics are very rife. This may cost the future generations a lot in terms of finding cure of these diseases. Since there are currently no critical causes for concern that make inheritable genetic modification mandatory, it may be wise to neglect the technology as a way of avoiding calamities that may befall the society in the future. If the scale of the future calamities as a result of the mutations outweighs the technological measures in place, the society can suffer major losses as a result of mistakes made by their