Why Is Genetic Engineering Wrong

Genetic engineering in healthcare Genetic engineering is a form of applied biology, often used to change a person's genome by using biotechnology. By adding DNA, removing genes or by recombining them, a genetically modified organism is created which can be used in research, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, medicine and in many other fields of labour. During the past few years, genetic engineering and genetic modification have led to an improvement in life for people, economically as well as environmentally.

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.

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.

Genetic engineering enables scientists to provide individuals lacking a particular gene with correct copies of that gene. If and when the correct gene begins functioning, the genetic disorder may be cured. This procedure is known as human gene therapy.” Many agree that if we can fix and genetic mutations during pregnancy, that we should. However, not all agree that we should decide some characteristics.

Fukuyama brings up topics that can be split into two categories: risks and benefits of genetic engineering along with the affordability of genetic engineering. Considering scientists aren’t entirely sure how genes work, they bring about several ills they wouldn’t be aware of, whether they be immediate ills or ills that show up much later (Fukuyama, 678). Genetic Engineering could have horrific effects on a population which could lead to the abandoning of genetic modification, just like in the way that hydroelectricity is no longer used as much because of the potential of dam breaks or environmental effects (Fukuyama, 680). There is also a possibility that only the rich will have access to this technology, so the state would possibly have to intervene to fix this inequality (Fukuyama, 680). Fukuyama concludes his writing by posing the fact that no matter what happens with genetic engineering, genetic engineering will change the course of human history on several levels, and on levels greater than that of any human biotechnology (Fukuyama, 681).

Is Genetic engineering Safe? Genetic engineering is the modification of an organism’s genetic composition by artificial means, often involving the transfer of specific traits, or genes, from one organism into a plant or animal of an entirely different species. Human beings ought to consider the pros and cons of genetic engineering before using it. It is a contentious topic because people have different views of weather genetic engineering is safe or not.

Designer genetics to create a baby after careful selection is a meme, and “we can say that memes are ‘selfish’, that they ‘do not care’, that they ‘want’ to propagate themselves, and so on, when all we mean is that successful memes are the ones that get copied and spread, while unsuccessful ones do not” (Blackmore 37), and some may consider this genetic modification to be a successful meme which is why parents are so willing to try it. By using technology in this type of way, it may possibly benefit some if it is spread for good causes, such as helping a baby be born without a disease that is known to run in the family so the parents won’t have to see their child go through pain. Many parents put their faith in “23andMe” and their technology because it is their last hope to be able to conceive a child without them having to worry about any debilitating disease or disabilities and since this procedure would be implicated even before the child is developed, there would be no questions of morality. However, some people might take advantage of this new technology and use it for nothing more than creating their fantasy child, as they start to choose non-health related traits such as weight, height, gender and eye color.

There is a heated debate among scientists, bioethicists, politicians, and citizens worldwide about the limitations, if any; that should be set on genetic engineering in the human reproductive domain. Potential parents, future lawmakers, and medical professionals will be decisive in the future of genetically designed children. Hopefully, the evidence presented in this paper will conclusively demonstrate that designer babies have an unfair advantage in society, and will ultimately skew its balance. Eugenics, the

“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

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

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.

Controlling the outcome and future of a child may also potentially set up tyrannical expectations over what the child will do or become. This also raises the question of how morals will even matter. There is much controversy on how individuality matters when someone could easily manipulate their child into what they want. A 2015 article in the journal, Nature, states that “a number of countries, including the United States, restrict or ban genetic modification of human embryos” (Belluck) whereas other countries have guidelines and regulations. On the other hand, some citizens negate these features and argue for the advancement of making the next generation smarter and

Science has enabled us to thrive in a world where change is a must if an organism wishes to live. It has allowed for us to bend and twist the world at our feet, even having enough strength to repel the touch of death. Genetic engineering is the next scientific advancement that will stand close in the near future. It has the capability of modifying the food production process, elimination of diseases and disorders, and the guarantation of the best traits in an organism.

This procedure’s purpose is to switch out genes for more preferred ones, especially to improve the health of the child. Genetic engineering could permit selection of desired physical and pleasurable traits for non-medical reasons, which has created concern in some people. The process of switching out the genes of a fetus to install genes that are more preferred has brought up debate about whether or not parents should be able to alter their babies genes to make them more appealing to the parents interests. There are many different ways of looking at this procedure and in contrast to other scientific procedures it can be for greater good or for unnecessary enhancement that could potentially create problems in society. Designer babies aren’t morally correct or incorrect, but are in between depending on what it is being used for.

The issue of modification through gene manipulation becomes increasingly complex when considering how this technology can be used as a means to unethical and harmful uses. In the article, Babies with Genes From 3 people could be Ethical, Panel Says, Rob Stein exposes various concerns about three gene donors in an embryo, including how a scientist, “Could introduce some new disease into the human gene pool or that scientists could try to do this for other reasons-nonmedical reasons, like create designer babies where parents pick the traits of their children.” Stein goes on to explain how the gene replacement procedure would take place, which continues to usher in a plethora of concerns as whether to allow Crispr technology be tested on a embryo.