Gene Modification Rhetorical Analysis

There has been much debate over altering D.N.A in the next generation of citizens. Many people are disagreeing over the ethics involved with gene editing. Using fairly new technology, Crispr-Cas 9, scientist can now alter D.N.A to eliminate some life threatening diseases and mutations by cutting out unhealthy strands of D.N.A, and replacing it with new ones. More controversially, scientist now have the power to change external appearance and character traits of babies, also know as “designer babies.” Genetic engineering should only be used in most dire situations, only to cure life threatening diseases.

Eugenics: Addressing the Line Between Utopia and Dystopia Many biologists/geneticists are in favor of eugenics due to the possibility of advancing the human race, limiting disease, and decreasing the occurrence of negative mutations, while others believe eugenic practices are unethical, useless, and have more potential for harm. Eugenic practices have proven to be extremely controversial, so I will focus on discussing the potential impacts of eugenics on the human body, society, and morality. Modern eugenic practices consist of two types of gene alteration: negative genetic engineering, which is the process of removing genes to combat disease, and gene therapy, which improves one 's genetic make-up (Hix, 2009, para. 4). Both methods of eugenics are equally controversial and equally promising. Gene therapy has been used to

The Rise of Human Genetic Modification? There are many controversial issues throughout time that have risen and led countries to disagree to with one another worldwide. Eugenics and genetic engineering on humans is a topic that many believe crosses a major ethical boundary. Many scientists and ethicists believe that gene editing on human genes is unethical at certain degrees and it should not be done until the proper precautions have been overlooked and restrictions are made.

Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, and in 1934, Germany implemented the eugenics law—patients with hereditary disease could be imposed sterilization. It has a far-reaching influence. Finally, the eugenics of Hitler was beyond the scope of sterilization and turned into genocide. "’ Hereditary Talent and Character’ contains a rudimentary description of such a eugenic utopia, a society which has accepted ‘race improvement’ as the basis of its ethical code.” (Ruth S. C., 1972)

Though eugenics may begin with good intentions, through events such as The Holocaust, one can see how quickly the good intentions can be twisted and turned into something vile and inhumane. It really boils down to the fact that yes, the human race is imperfect. But in that imperfection beauty is found in the diversity as well as progress. If humans were all perfect specimens, there would be no reason to dream or hope for a better tomorrow. The dreamers are the ones who advance society and always have been.

Race and Eugenics are interwoven in the history of the world. Through the ‘discovery’ of race and the idea that there is one superior race; science has linked eugenics which is the study of agencies under social control that can better the racial quality of future generations to the possibility of a ‘clean race’. Through this essay the outline of race and eugenics will be explained further and why ‘artificial selection’ was appealing to nation states like the United States of America in the 20th century.

Little did they know, they were slowly leading to the downfall of our nation. The word “Eugenics” was coined by Francis Galton. The term comes from the greek roots that mean “good” and“origin”. In other words, the word means “good birth”, which refers to

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.

The researchers then combine the broken gene with a healthy gene. This new healthy gene is now modified and free from the mutation it had before. Although many individuals’ ethics and morals stand in the way of gene editing, this technology affects society in many different

Chapter 4: Modern day eugenics: social desensitisation to the value of human life “What is the result of this exclusive and unintelligent protection of the weak, the infirm, the incurable, the wicked, to all those who are ill-favoured by nature? It is that the ills which have afflicted them tend to be perpetuated and multiplied indefinitely; that evil is increased instead of diminishing, and tends to grow at the expense of the good.”- Clemence Royer, 1862 preface to the French translation of the Origin of Species The quiet refuge that eugenics went into after the war is now over and it has become more prominent in recent years, as society has forgotten its war, and even post war atrocities.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, eugenics is: “a science that deals with the improvement (as by control of human mating) of hereditary qualities of a race or breed”. ("Definition of Eugenics by Merriam-Webster") The most common example of this concept would be the Holocaust, which was the extermination of Jewish people and others deemed “unfit” for society in World War Ⅱ. But little do many know, the Nazi’s were not the only people practicing eugenics in the early 1900’s, eugenics was being practiced in the United States long before the Holocaust. The American Eugenics Society aimed to educate American people on the science of Eugenics.

Its ability to scare people into believing eugenics was necessary not only made is successful but also strengthened its impact, although this aspect did not translate into future

In 1932, Aldous Huxley imagined and wrote about a world where designer baby technology is prevalent in his science-fiction novel, Brave New World. The technology would not come until many years later, but his ideas still hold up today. In the book, there were different classes depending on how genetically modified one was, including Alpha or Beta (“The Public Should Oppose Designer Baby Technology”). Outside of science fiction, though, is real science where an actual baby can be genetically modified before even being born. A designed baby is one that is purposefully shaped to be one way or another through processes including In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), where an egg is fertilized and genetically altered, and preimplantation genetic diagnosis

That is my point Mr. Samuels. There’s a difference between using gene therapy for the treatment of existing medical conditions, and using our growing, but far from perfect, knowledge of genes to declare that we absolutely know who has a right and who hasn’t to live at all.” To me, what this quote is saying is, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Even if we could see if a baby is not going to be healthy or “perfect” when it is born, do we have the right to deny it life? This is an extremely hard ethical decision to make.

“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