Finding Genetic Harmony with Genetic Engineering

Eugenics is a contentious topic of issue with many ethical implications, especially with advancements in current genetic science. It harbours different definitions to describe it, but they all subscribe to improve the human gene pool through selective reproductive practices, including prenatal testing or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (Wilkins & Garrard, 2). These practices are designed to reduce undesirable traits, such as genetic disease, or to increase desirable ones, such as effective immune systems or intelligence. In this paper, I discuss different controversial issues and ethical dilemmas in regards to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) practices and why PGD practices should not be supported.

Picture a young couple in a waiting room looking through a catalogue together. This catalogue is a little different from what you might expect. In this catalogue, specific traits for babies are being sold to couples to help them create the "perfect baby." This may seem like a bizarre scenario, but it may not be too far off in the future. Designing babies using genetic enhancement is an issue that is gaining more and more attention in the news. This controversial issue, once thought to be only possible in the realm of science-fiction, is causing people to discuss the moral issues surrounding genetic enhancement and germ line engineering. Though genetic research can prove beneficial to learning how to prevent hereditary

Genetic engineering is the figurehead of the ethical concerns of scientists in the 21st century. Nothing is more engrossed with criticism and dislike than the idea of altering the baseline for living organisms. Many people are skeptical of genetic engineering due to the versatility it exhibits. A scientist could use a genetic editing tool, such as CRISPR, to remove the genes for a hereditary disease in an embryo, but they could also utilize it to alter the physical characteristics of a human baby. This thought provoked the flood gates of ethics to unleash a multitude of unanswered questions and concerns about the usage and further development of genetic engineering. The field of genetic engineering is

Picture a future where everyone is perfect, where judgment would not exist because no one is ugly, everyone is beautiful and flawless. In this “perfect” world each individual would be gifted in a specific category that they would excel in and go beyond what an average mundane could. This is a possible scenario we may encounter in the future if we allow the research of genetically- modified embryos (GM babies) to continue. Discussed by many, this topic has become increasingly popular. For some people this interests them in the sense that we can become the best versions of ourselves, simply by changing our genes. Another reason people support GM babies is that there is experiments that can prevent babies from being born with genetic health problems. Although the creation of these altered GM babies has some advantages, there are several problems that people must consider before we decide to go ahead with these plans. For example, genetic research will disrupt the natural order, which can lead to designer babies or GM babies born with side effects. The dangers of these experiments will greatly affect the world we live in. We must not rush into the practice of GM babies without letting the populations know the outcomes these GM babies can have in our society. Try to help everyone grasp the definition of GM babies and also explain how experiments on embryo can lead to designer babies.

Imagine that any person can have precisely the child that they want. This child will not have any genetic diseases, guaranteed, and soon, one can include exactly the traits that they want including the sex, haircolor, and personality (“Initial Attraction,” University of Minnesota Open Library). Although these ideas may sound fascinating at first, they may generate a eugenics society, the cost makes it unfair to those who cannot afford it, and it might create a risk of extinction for the human race in the future. For these reasons, the genetic modification of human embryos should be banned.

Science and technology are always pushing forward and leading us to new discoveries, dramatically altering life as we know it. One of the newest discoveries is the genetic enhancement of infants, also known as designer babies or germline enhancement. Scientists take the human embryo and enhance its genetic makeup to ensure a particular gene is present or to remove the gene altogether. The manipulation of the unborn child’s genes will pose unknown risks and will be done without their consent. The controversy of this deception will further destabilize society and its unity. The genetic enhancement of infants should be opposed because it is unethical and dangerous to civilians and society.

As reproductive technology like in vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic diagnosis continues to develop, the advancement of gene editing raises the possibility of designer babies in the near future. Defined as a baby whose genome has been preselected in order to ensure that certain genes are or are not present, designer babies are not yet practical with current technology, but preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) does make it possible for parents to choose the gender of their unborn child or select embryos that are least likely to develop genetic disorders. While most experts and the public are in agreement that using reproductive technology to eradicate disorders like Tay-Sachs disease and sickle cell anemia is ethical and in the best interest of the child, genetic engineering for the purpose of

Picture a young couple in a waiting room looking through a catalogue together. This catalogue is a little different from what you might expect. In this catalogue, specific traits for babies are being sold to couples to help them create the "perfect baby." This may seem like a bizarre scenario, but it may not be too far off in the future. Designing babies using genetic enhancement is an issue that is gaining more and more attention in the news. This controversial issue, once thought to be only possible in the realm of science-fiction, is causing people to discuss the moral issues surrounding genetic enhancement and germ line engineering. Though genetic research can prove beneficial to learning how to prevent hereditary diseases, the

New technological advances and scientific methods continue to change the course of nature. One of the current controversial advances in science and technology is the use of genetically modified embryos in which the study exceeds stem cell research. Scientists have begun planning for research involving human embryos in the genetic modification field. Many technological developments are responsible for improving our living standards and even saving lives, but often such accomplishments have troubling cultural and moral ramifications (Reagan, 2015). We are already beyond the days in which virtually the only procreative option was for a man and a woman to conceive the old-fashioned way (Reagan, 2015). Genetic modification of human embryos can be perceived as a positive evolution in the medical process yet it is surrounded by controversy due to ethical processes. Because this form of genetic modification could affect later born children and their offspring, the protection of human subjects should be a priority in decisions about whether to proceed with such research (Dresser, 2004). The term Human Genetic Engineering was originally made public in 1970. During this time there were several methods biologists began to devise in order to better identify or isolate clone genes for manipulation in several species or mutating them in humans.

Pre-implantation genetic diagnostic testing is a technique that is used to identify and prevent genetic defects in the embryos of mothers through in vitro fertilization before pregnancy. The term “designer babies” is what is used to describe the result of this procedure. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis can cause new issues to arise through society, morality and even science, thus this procedure should be prevented. As these certain issues of society, morality and science combine together, it can lead a negative ripple effect on humanity.

Because controlling the genetic content of the child’s DNA will prevent genetic diseases and disability, designer babies should be allowed. There are many illnesses which neither the child nor the parents could prevent the child from getting. This kind of disease is transferred from the parents to the child by genes like diabetes. Because of these genes the child will get a disability or illness, which can affect their not only physical but also mental ability. Because of that they cannot function as well as other kids, and it might lead to emotions problems and anxieties. So when this technology claims to have the ability to end most of the diseases, the community should give it the best chance. Also, Michael Bostrom, author of “The Morality of Human Genetic Engineering” argues that “the practice of genetic engineering might also lead to better treatment of disability” (1). Opponents show their disagreement by pointing out

Research in the first form of genetic engineering began in the late nineteenth century with a pea plant, by a man named Mendel. But there have been many others after him that have found better methods. In 1968, a key discovery was made by a Swiss microbiologist named Werner Arber, when he found restriction enzymes (naturally occurring enzymes that cut DNA into fragments during replication). In 1973, the” true fathers of genetic engineering were American biochemists Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer, who were the first scientists to use restriction enzymes to produce a genetically modified organism.” (Chawla 1) After all of these discoveries, the research and progress of GMO’s grew larger and populated into the new age of biotechnology.

Through natural selection and selective breeding, humans have been manipulating genes for thousands of years. It has been occurring since around 12,000 BC, when humans first began to domesticate organisms. Genetic engineering as the direct manipulation of DNA by humans though, only came about in the 1970s. In 1972, Paul Berg created the first recombinant DNA molecules by combining DNA from the monkey virus SV40 with that of the lambda virus. In 1973 Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen created the first transgenic organism by inserting antibiotic resistance genes into the plasmid of an E. coli bacterium. the term "genetic engineering" was first coined by Jack Williamson in his science fiction novel Dragon 's Island, published in 1951, before its role in heredity or the DNA. In 1976 the technology was commercialized, with the advent of genetically modified

This success is incredibly impressive considering the fact that efficient, simple methods to genetically modify DNA, such as CRISPR-Cas9, were not yet discovered and the first ever success with genetic engineering of human genes was not too long before the 1990’s.

However, that being said, it was not until 1980s court case, Diamond vs. Chakraborty, which determined that a GMO could be patented, and potentially sold (Diamond vs. Chakrabarty 1980). This patent didn’t become active until May 1981 and almost immediately a year after, in 1982, genetically engineered insulin was approved by the FDA to be used for Diabetic patients. (Goel and Parashar 2013, p.170) Insulin is a chemical produced in the livers of sheep and cattle, and genetically engineered Insulin had allowed the medical fields to harvest this source without hurting the animals that produced it naturally, thus cutting out the “middle man”. This was the first instance in which the public had experienced Genetically Modified Organisms being utilized within the public health system.