Ethical Issues Surrounding Genetic Screening and Genetic Engineering

DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid. Deoxyribonucleic corrosive is an atom that conveys a large portion of the hereditary guidelines utilized as a part of the improvement, working and propagation of all known living creatures and numerous infections. The National Institutes of Health and Welcome Trust from the London UK and Craig Vendor of Celera Genomics from Maryland USA at the same time exhibited the grouping of human DNA in June of 2000, finishing the first significant attempt of the Human Genome Project (HGP) (Ridley 2). As researchers connection human attributes to qualities fragments of DNA found on one or a greater amount of the 23 human

   The Human Genome Project is the largest scientific endeavor undertaken since the Manhattan Project, and, as with the Manhattan Project, the completion of the Human Genome Project has brought to surface many moral and ethical issues concerning the use of the knowledge gained from the project. Although genetic tests for certain diseases have been available for 15 years (Ridley, 1999), the completion of the Human Genome Project will certainly lead to an exponential increase in the number of genetic tests available. Therefore, before genetic testing becomes a routine part of a visit to a doctor's office, the two main questions at the heart of the controversy surrounding genetic testing must be

DNA are like legos, they work together to build the traits of living things. They are the building blocks of the body. Many scientists today have been figuring out different ways to manipulate, change, add, and subtract genes from the DNA in living things; this is process is called genetic engineering. Some of the living things being experimented on are live people, plants, and animals. Today scientists are debating on the morals of genetic engineering due to what the community thinks of it, because of the christian 's viewpoint of genetic engineering. To some christians it may pose a threat to their, but to others it may be a blessing or a gift. Genetic Engineering is a growing breakthrough in the science community. “Over the last 30 years, the field of genetic engineering has developed rapidly due to the greater understanding of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as the chemical double helix code from which genes are made. The term genetic engineering is used to describe the process by which the genetic makeup of an organism can be altered using “recombinant DNA technology.” This involves the use of laboratory tools to insert, alter, or cut out pieces of DNA that contain one or more genes of interest.”(Pocket K No. 17) Scientist have yet to unlock the full potential of genetic engineering, but the information and the use they have found for it today has reached farther than anyone 's expectations.

The medical advances being made feasible by genetic testing are very exciting. It is possible for people with predispositions for genetic defects to know in advance if they will have a healthy child or not. If they find out there is a problem they can choose to terminate the pregnancy or they can prepare in advance for their child's special needs. There is even new technology called Ex Utero genetic testing. This test is performed on eggs fertilized through in vitro fertilization before they are even put in the mother's uterus. Understanding genes in the developing human will help doctors understand the nature of genetic diseases and may lead to countless other medical breakthroughs. Though it is probably a long way off doctors may one day be able to manipulate genes. If this is possible some genetic problems may be cured.

Gregory Stock, in his article Choosing Our Genes, asserts that at this point not ethics are important, but rather the future of genetic technology. Stock supports his conclusion by providing powerful examples of how genetic modifications can benefit our population anywhere from correcting genes at the time of conception to extending lifespan. He wants to inform his audience about all of the benefits of genetic technology in order to prove that there are way more advantages in this technology that are highly desirable by people of different ages. He reaches his readers by writing a very detailed yet coherent article that brings awareness to various groups of people from parents to be to older populations.

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

I support the guidelines outlined by Kitcher for the use of genetic information because of their responsible and ethical nature. I believe that future generations will benefit as a direct consequence of these guidelines. I shall begin by defining eugenics as the study of human genetics to improve inherited characteristics of the human race by the means of controlled selective breeding.

World renowned geneticist Dr. Charles Epstein delivered a speech in 2003 at the Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting of the American College of Medical Genetics in which he expands upon historical and current aspects of eugenics and how it relates to genetic modification. In one part of his presentation Epstein

As the effects of genes on human physiology and disease are increasingly being examined in laboratories and clinics across the world, the discussion surrounding informing the family members of tested patients needs to be explored. Previous research has discovered that certain genetic mutations can predict with a high degree of accuracy the rate of occurrence of disease not only in the tested participant but in the family as a whole. One such genetic mutation is a change in the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) gene and a corresponding increase in the rate of occurrence of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP). Researchers need to address the question of whether or not to inform the family members of a participant if one of these genes is discovered. In this paper, we discuss whether the researchers have the ethical responsibility to inform the family of a tested participant’s APC status and the implications that will

These strands form a complex which is known as Cas9 and is able to cut through DNA. The matching sequence, or guide RNA, finds its target in the genome of the virus and the Cas9 cuts the DNA and therefore disables the virus. This technique has now been engineered to allow any chosen DNA strand to be cut at a precise location simply by changing the guide RNA.

Ethics are going to interfere in sciences due to future developments in genetic engineering. As the research in the field of transgenics continues with plants and bacteria, the same isn’t true with animals. Recently, the discovery of genomics has opened a door where the common sense and the ethics have blocked: The possibility of creating modified humans. A professor of practical ethics at the University of Oxford, Savulescu (2014) states that humans “have a moral obligation” to improve themselves, and since genetic engineering are serving for this purpose, the humanity shall not avoid this. However, the ethics behind this seems more complicated than it is, because, besides the fact that for now this is scientific fiction, the science is getting closer to a reality, and it breaks the common sense of creating a new life. Consequently, changes ought to be done to those genetic modifications happen.

The ethics of human engineering is something that can be seen as falling into the category of mankind's relationship with technology and the idea of man versus machine. The idea that humans becoming closer to “perfection” with the help of medicines or technology has been on the minds of philosophers for decades. Authors such as George Orwell and books such as Brave New World give an idea on the fear towards man vs technology. The sense that humanities individualism will be lost due to being sedated and controlled by machines, medicines, and a government that controls both of those factors.

Genetic engineering has been the cause of many ethical debates since its early development. There are many pro to supporting it and there are many cons against it. Genetic engineering is somethings that has promised to improve human life through changing genetic conditions and characteristics. The article “Creating Better People? Some Considerations on Genetic Enhancement” Rev. Grzegorz Holub, SDB, looks at the concept of genetic emerging as a change in the basic structure of the human being. The article also examines what assumptions can be drawn for genetic enhancement of humans.

On the most surface level, human genetic engineering and human genetic modification are a new and rapidly developing field of science that deals with directly altering the DNA (genetic makeup) of a living human cell. From early science fiction to the present day, taking control of humans’ gen es and directing the flow of evolution has been a subject of debate for many people. Human genetic engineering or HGE tends to bring up thoughts of dystopian futures where altering DNA has unexpectedly resulted in horrible mutant humans that can’t survive and thus the human race perishes, but this is not necessarily the outcome. Since genetic engineering is an emerging field of science, there are still many moral and ethical issues that need to be addressed before continuing research. Atheists and theists both have valid reasons to support / resist the continuation of this field of science. For the purpose of this paper, it will be assumed the reader has a reasonable understanding of the terms atheism, theism, DNA, genes, genome, and how a persons DNA (their genotype) essentially dictates the physical appearance and abilities that person portrays (their phenotype).

Genetics is always a hot topic, but it is usually met with many different, and often times contradictory, opinions. Several major events occurred in the 1990s that sparked this great debate. A few of those event were the cloning of Dolly the sheep, gene mapping that can determine the likelihood of a disease, and genetically modified crops. The public in the United States feared that gene mapping would lead to “genetic discrimination” from insurance companies, but at the same time they supported the exploration. Genetic discrimination is defined as “discrimination against an individual or against members of that individual’s family solely because of real or perceived differences from the normal genome of that individual” (Reilly, 2000, p.489). Gene mapping could have a positive effect on the future health of Americans, but insurance companies have the potential to keep that from happening by increasing rates or denying coverage because of predispositions for disease.