Ethics Of Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering

With the subject of genetic engineering it is a topic that has many sides to it. There are those who oppose it and those advocate it. There are also people who would use it for the wrong reasons. Genetic engineering is generally a new science. It has many flaws and has not yet been restricted or monitored very closely. This new science has many pros and cons and ways that it can help humanity as a whole.

Before getting into the ethics of genetic engineering, you first must understand what it is. Genetic Engineering is the process of altering the DNA in a genome. In this process, scientists can look at the mapping of the genome and modify it to the liking of the parent and/or caretaker. Thanks to the genome mapping we can get a good idea what this genome will turn into and what genetic diseases it will have. Using this information and the new science of genetic engineering, you can, in lack of a better word, cut out that part of the DNA. One such process thats apart of genetic engineering is CRISPR. This process cuts out the undesirable gene and then replaces it with a brand new section of DNA. It can replace genes that are more cosmetic and genes that have genetic disease mutations. The process of genetic engineering is still new and developing.

There are two sides of the spectrum when dealing with human genetic engineering. There are the people who completely oppose this procedure, who will be called the repercussions. Then there are the people who completely agree and are for genetic engineering, who will be called the bio evolutionists. The repercussions arguments mostly focus on the ethics and repercussions of tampering with the human genome. While the bio evolutionists believe that bioengineering such as this procedure is the next step in human evolution and will better humanity. Although many people do lie in the middle of this spectrum. The two sides are very different, but at the same time not very challenging with their views.

Personally, I stand in the middle of this spectrum when talking about genetically modifying the human genome. The reasoning for this is that I believe that with this new technology it can help genetically predestined to have poor quality of life, for example people with Autism and Cerebral Palsy. It can help those that are genetically coded to have this horrible disease by changing or getting rid of the gene altogether. Even if the disease you want to protect from is not entirely genetic, the process can change the gene to fight against the disease, such as Pulmonary Fibrosis. Genetic Engineering can be a helpful tool in the fight against genetic diseases and mutations.

On the other end of this, we still don’t know what happens when you modify a genome. There can be so many repercussions that are not thought about. One of these beings what happens when you remove the gene and replace it with a foriegn one. Will the body accept or deny it, and if it denies it, what happens? There is also the fact that although we have a general map of the genome, we do not have a full and definitive map of it. Which can cause some problems when trying to genetically engineer a genome. For example, a scientist can accidently cut or change an important life maintaining gene instead of the targeted mutated gene. This can cause major health problems later on in life. Also, if these problems were to occur there is very little treatment to help with this. Unlike cloning which brought on diseases and deformities that have been recorded, researched and tested, genetic engineering diseases are new and the likelihood of getting treatment or a cure is extremely unlikely. This is bad on two levels. The first being if there was a mistake made in the process, which is very likely since we are humans and are not perfect, that there would be no treatment for whatever would happen. The second being that through this new process, there could be new genetic diseases. Which scientists would most definitely not be able to do anything about. Genetic Engineering has a lot of flaws but with new future technologies it can advance to not have so many dangers that come with it and possibly be more effective at fighting more than just genetic diseases.

The ethics of genetic engineering are mostly the same as the concerns/flaws as previously stated. There are some ethical questions as to if it will create new genetic diseases due to said tampering. Also there is concern that this will be an issue of justice and equity. The reason for this is that this procedure will obviously cost a lot which means that only the higher ups will have access to it. This can be unfair since, most of the time the people who are able to pay for these procedures already have the money to take care of the people even without editing their genes. This then can create a divide between social classes as the middle and lower could have more use to this and not have access to it. Another ethical question with genetic engineering is whether these new genetically engineered children will be perceived as better than normal humans. For these children can be amplified in ability. So it stands to question, will these people get better jobs than others just for being genetically modified and will they have more advantages than others? These children can also fall into the category of having an advantage in sports. Will these children, who could be genetically engineered to perform better be at the same level or more so of those in sports. I hate to bring this up but these children can be compared to those of transgender. For those who are transgender and identify as female, have more of an advantage in womens sports since they are biologically male and males already have more endurance and are stronger. This fact raises a lot of concern and many believe it to be unfair that transgender people compete. Well the same could be said for the genetically engineered children. These children could grow up and have better metabolism or be faster than the average person. There is also concern for the child in this situation. For they want to do something or compete in something but when they do they are faced with backlash from doing so. This could be psychologically devastating for the child. Since they are being hated for genetic advantages that they had no control over it whatsoever. This process can cause a split between the two sides and can even become more hostile than before. But there is still more ethical questioning. There is the ethical concern of genetic engineering being used for cosmetic enhancements. Now the enhancements I’m talking about are not those for cleft palate and things such as this. I am referring to changing hair color, eye color and things such as height. Such a new procedure should not in any way be used for looks. This is just not reasonable at all. Not to sound cheesy or anything but people should love the way they look and their parents should too. If cosmetic enhancements were to be used in genomes, who’s to say that there will be ten children who all look exactly the same. This in itself compromises individuality. Since we are changing ones uniqueness before they are even born and making them out to be someone else. The reason I say this is that we usually look to people already existing to know what is beautiful and we can just as easily apply those features to the genome by editing and modifying it. This in turn impacts individuality for there is no personal uniqueness in the child for the parents changed it. —–continue ethics argument with new website:http://www.jbiomeds.com/biomedical-sciences/human-social-and-environmental-impacts-of-human-genetic-engineering.php?aid=7264

Genetic Engineering is a new process that has taken the first step to human-controlled evolution. Although there are many flaws with it I still stand in the middle of the two sides. I believe that this procedure can do some good in the world by stopping some of the diseases that we have come in contact with or have even made. I do think though that there should be restrictions put in place for this process. I believe that genetic engineering should strictly be for health purposes. It should be used to pre-treat genetic diseases to better the future generation from the diseases we face today. I know that there is risk involved with it, but then again there is risk in almost every procedure that is done. But I believe that there should be restrictions for getting cosmetics done. People should get cosmetic enhances if it will affect their lifestyle. For example, people with cleft palate can get this done because if they didn’t they would most likely get surgery anyway. Genetic Engineering can be a great tool in combating some of the diseases that harm us today. So why take a technology so great to change the eye color of your newborn. Genetic Engineering is quite possibly the future of humanity, whether it has ethical flaws or not.