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The Pros And Cons Of Human Gene Therapy

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“Human-gene therapy has been one of the most ambitious goals of biotechnology since the advent of molecular techniques for genetic modification in the 1970s”. In the 1990s Somatic-Cell Human Gene Therapy (SHGT) was successfully tested on a patient with bubble-boy disease.1 This form of therapy targets existing genes or stop new ones from producing. This type of cell therapy only targets the non-reproductive cells of the patient. This is the main difference between this form of therapy and germ-line gene therapies. Germ-line therapies that modify embryos target the egg and sperm cells so that the improved revised code can be passed down to the following generation.1 Recently, over the past couple of years, the genetic modification on the human …show more content…

Just as other forms of technology continue to develop, the question now is how far will genetic modification continue to develop? Many geneticists suggest this research be put on hold in fear of genetic modification eventually leading to the practice of specifically selecting genetic characteristics of offspring, in other words, creating “designer babies” . However, if this gene-editing technique is successfully developed, diseases that are genetically dominant, such as Huntington’s diseases, polycystic kidney disease, and sickle-cell anemia can be avoided. Eliminating these common chronic life-long illnesses, which affects more than 100,000 patients yearly, can help decrease the number of patients hospitals receive daily and increase human …show more content…

Currently, this topic is along the lines of abortion because those who are for abortion would say the mother has the choice. In this case the mother, and father, would have the choice to use gene-modifying technology on their unborn child. On the other hand, those against abortion would say that the child is a gift of God and a human being once it is conceived meaning terminating the pregnancy would be murder. This view could carry over to germ-line editing because humans are still tampering with unborn humans who have no voice and this tampering could lead to more complications, even murder, in the end. If the U.S., among other countries use this scientific technology, some religious countries such as Iraq which has a culture of very strict religious laws that would most likely be opposed to editing genetics of human embryos. However, there are already many disagreements between countries on what is allowed and what is not. As germ-line editing is compared to abortion above there is a high chance, if this biotechnological editing is one day allowed to be performed on actual pregnancies, there will always be a disagreement on whether or not this is ethical. No one person has the exact same ethical view point because no one person is the same which means there will always be conflict when it comes to genetically

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In the third chapter of Ronald M. Green’s Babies by Design Green suggest the idea of categorizing the different degrees of human gene modification into the style of Punnett squares. Additionally, this chapter mainly focuses on the boundaries and of genetic engineering from Somatic modification treatment to germline enhancement. Green breaks this chapter up, in essentially four sections. He acknowledges the benefits of all four types of genetic modification and while some are less controversial than others, he presents a more in-depth argument for ones that are hotly debated, like germline gene therapy.

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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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Even with the somatic gene therapy a person’s future child will likely not have these genes because they will not get passed on. The second gene therapy is called “Germ-line gene therapy.” Germ-line gene therapy will improve the genes in the egg or sperm cells. This will be passed on to the person’s future child because any changes made to the genes in the egg or sperm cells the future generation will have. However, only very limited research has been done with Germ-line gene therapy.

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“Recently developed techniques for modifying genes are often called “gene editing ("Human Genetic Modification | Center for Genetics and Society").” Genetic modification can be applied in two very different ways: “somatic genetic modification” and “germline genetic modification. Somatic genetic modification adds, cuts, or changes the genes in some of the cells of an existing person, typically to alleviate a medical condition. These gene therapy techniques are approaching clinical practice, but only for a few conditions, and at a very high

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Genetically engineering a baby violates the baby’s rights, takes away the child 's individuality, and exhibits a greater health risk overall. Ordering the perfect child can come with some moral questions and can go against religious values. Predetermining who you want your baby to be is dangerous because of the risk of having too many similar people and not enough differentiation. Creating a designer baby can also increase the mother’s chance of having a miscarriage or other health problems. The science behind making designer babies has not been perfected yet.

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Scientists have been researching ways to change the genetic code for a few years, but not until recently have scientists been able to find a way to change the cells completely and safely. The old method consisted of changing the cells DNA after the fertilization of the egg. This method resulted in some of the cells to be repaired, and some with the unrepaired gene. The new method is to introduce the gene editing component with the sperm as it enters the egg before fertilization. This new way of gene-editing results in more cells in the embryo to be repaired.

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Human genetic modification is the manipulation of genes in human DNA so that defective genes don’t obstruct proper functioning, and so that inherited diseases are not passed on. Those against it may argue that genetic modification is simply unnecessary, immoral, or interferes with nature’s course. However, genetic modification overall is and will continue to be beneficial to the mental and physical health of the entire human species. Falling under the umbrella of biology, it is sensible to consider the studying of genes as a significant aspect of the biological sciences because it’s learning how to manipulate them in order to progress preventative medicine and create the possibility of a healthier future. One method of genetic modification

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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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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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“The main arguments against genetic modification of human embryos are that it would be unsafe and unfair, and that modification would quickly go beyond efforts to reduce the incidence of inherited maladies” (Caplan). During the altering genes in the mother 's womb cause a lot of dangerous situations and

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