Gene Editing Issues

Imagine a world where maladaptive genetic diseases have ceased to exist, parents have the ability to alter and improve their unborn child’s attributes such as height, intelligence, and attractiveness, and each generation becomes healthier, smarter, and stronger. Sounds like an unfeasible utopia, does it not? However, due to scientific advancements in the field of embryonic gene modification, this fantasy may soon become a reality. In a nutshell, embryonic gene modification refers to scientists altering the genome of an embryo in vitro for a multitude of reasons, ranging from eliminating harmful genetic diseases to altering superficial characteristics. Although embryonic gene modification may seem like a dream come true to many, it is not without ethical concerns that require intense debate.

Genome editing is still relatively new in the science world. It was only fairly recently that we gained the first ability to fix our DNA (Rajan). Genome editing is changing the DNA, which gives us the ability to change it for the better – which is not an easy thing to do (What Is Genome Editing?). In order to change the DNA, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are manipulated to improve the DNA (Hornblower, Reis, Robb, and Tzertzinis). A fracture is made in the DNA to modify it, in order to adjust the DNA to try to rid it of genetic diseases and abnormalities (What Is Genome Editing?). Then, a new sequence can be added into the existing DNA and be repaired (What Is Genome Editing?). This is the basic idea of the difficult genome editing. While complicated, once more progress is made and it becomes more successful, this process could work on a variety of diseases (What Is Genome Editing?).

A new epidemic in human reproduction is slowly sweeping the earth, and it is known as human gene alteration. It gives parents the ability to decide their babies' sex, hair color, or even eye color. Creating these so called "designer babies" seems like the perfect way to have the child you have always dreamed of. But is this a moral way to go about reproduction? Is it fair to these children to mess with their genes just for your own satisfaction of having the perfect baby? Gene alteration can also be used in other more beneficial ways. One being to prevent and weed out disease that effects an unborn child. Gene alteration can be very beneficial, but only if used in the right way such as

In recent years genetic modification has been advancing. Genetic modification is when a living organism has been altered to a specific state of characteristics. So far scientist has made one attempt to modify genes from an embryo recently. Whether they were successful or not is question unanswered yet. Gene modification can be great and all. However, is it right to modify genes? Apparently, the population agrees to modify genes since there has been licenses of approval for gene modification. If Society cared about gene modification, then there would be signs of disapproval of gene modification. However, this is viewed morally wrong in my point of view. The pros of modifying genes are that defeating diseases, potential to live longer, genetic diseases, and able to select character traits of babies. The cons of modifying genes are failures on the way to perfecting genetic modification, genetic modification babies can have more greater problems, very expensive, and when does it stop?

Even though gene editing has been discussed and thoroughly gone through and examined, many scientists are still very skeptical and refuse to even do it especially on embryos.

There are other types of gene editing out there but research shows us that CRISPR is fast, precise, and simple. Researchers are developing a way for CRISPR therapy to help with Alzheimer’s all the way to HIV. There are two categories the researchers and people have put CRISPR in: practical and philosophical. The researchers say that the immediate barrier is practical. During the tests, CRISPR has found targets in other parts of the DNA that need fixing other than the intended part of the DNA. Because of this, it may take at least a generation to ensure that it is safe. Some people oppose CRISPR because the oppositionists say it lets people play god but getting medicine every time you get sick with the same thing obscures the natural order of things. The opportunities are getting pushed ahead for treating cancer, childhood diseases that are genetic, and how to understand diabetes better. The one question some people have is whether it’s right to edit genes that are

There have been many test trials for taking steps to sure there are positive results, but there is a risk in trying something new. We will always have to be worried about failure just like into curing some diseases some people die when taking the cure. But with gene editing it's different they only thing the body can do, just reject or accepting the process. Proving the fewer risks than ejecting some unknown subject into your body with a 45% chance of it working or you dying instead. But gene editing opens new doorways to "eugenics, where those with access to the technology could select" future generations genetic traits like eye, skin or hair color, or height (12).

Das points out that “[Editing genes] reduces the risk of genetic diseases and ensures that a defective gene gets obliterated from the family line.” Regardless of the opportunity for genetic improvements, there is always room for error. As previously stated, “Possibility of damage to the gene pool also becomes a real threat” (Das 1349). Designer babies have the potential to benefit society by eliminating horrendous genetic diseases, but they could also destroy the human genome by eliminating vital

While the benefits of gene editing are immense, there are still multiple risk factors to be considered. Nearly every type of procedure in the medical field has at least some sort of risk element, but the fact that genetic editing alters the baseline for every single intricate part of the human body poses a far greater risk of damage to the patient. Furthermore, it would be extremely difficult to locate damages caused to the patient after the procedure has been completed because of the millions of cells that make up the body. It is of utmost certainty that genetic engineering will not be an ethical solution to genetic disorders until it has been further developed. Ethical concerns, set standards, and viability all need to be tackled first before gene editing can be a usable tool. None of the articles found for this report provided substantial evidence that gene editing or genetic engineering is ready for any type of real-world application. In fact, many of them provided evidence that it is not ready for usage. Regardless, there are certainly many roadblocks that genetic engineering has yet to overcome. Until it has been proved to be viable and safe for general usage, genetic editing does not appear to be ethically justified for usage in humans in its current

Designer babies are babies whose DNA has been modified to include and exclude certain traits. One such example is CRISPR-Cas9, a new technology, giving scientists the ability to control the genetic structure of human cells and use to create designer babies (Sas & Lawrenz, 2017). Additionally, what makes this gene editing attractive is the ability to locate, modify, or even remove deleterious gene diseases (Otieno, 2015). Gene editing might be beneficial to bring a child into this world without extra challenges such as deformities, genetic defects, and illnesses yet, there are serious concerns over this practice. Ultimately, not only is gene editing both difficult and expensive to achieve, but it is also an unreliable way to change natural order

However, the concept of designer babies is still relatively new; thus, it raise concerns about the safety of this technique. Also, the process of designer babies has only been experimented on rabbits and rats, so it has yet to be tested on humans. Therefore, there could be hidden risks and side effects for humans that have yet to be discovered until after the procedure is completed. The issue of competence emerges because “patients must understand the treatment involved and the potential side effects, as well as the probability of possible outcomes” (Morrison and Furlong, 2014, p. 262). The editing of the genome is still a mystery as there could be unexplored territories. There could be the possibility of cleaving the wrong genes and as a result serious side effects may occur when necessary genes are sliced. In addition, unpredictable consequences may occur in future generations, so prospective problems may not always appear until the birth of the baby (Pang and Ho, 2016). Thus, it raises the risk of the emergence of new types of diseases or disabilities if genes are edited. It will be difficult to tell when problems arise during the process and it may eventually show up only once the irreversible procedure is completed. Furthermore, “the success rate of impregnation is lower than most would like, harvesting eggs from the woman—a procedure not without burdens—may have to be done multiple times” (Suter, 2007, p. 930). Women will have to undergo the risk of implantation even though it is not guaranteed that she will become pregnant as a result. The cost of this procedure is quite significant, but there is still a chance that the process may not work or is ineffective. Therefore, it is not possible to know the potential risks until it emerges, so it questions the safety of designer babies because there is still more to learn about the technique since it is still

I found Weintraub’s article to be the most down to earth and approachable when it comes to the topic of Gene editing. In the article, she mentions several reasons why gene editing can be beneficial including stopping progressive diseases, such as dementia, completely in their tracks. Weintraub even suggests that gene editing could be used to save certain animals that are facing extinction due to genetic abnormalities or diseases. On the flipside, she brings up a very interesting point about how some parents may not want to use gene editing to heal their children, but rather to “improve” them by altering their genes to make them taller, more athletic, skinnier, etc. Weintraub also worries that utilizing gene editing this manner might end up

The idea of eugenics as a means of improving human conditions through embryo manipulation, has been debated in many scientific and cultural communities for various reasons. One of them being its effect on society, specifically the societal views of genetically improved individuals. From a social and cultural perspective, the concept of eugenics varies between people of different cultures. With the results of different human eugenic trials and the increase of gene editing technologies such as CRISPR, there have been many contrasting reactions to the information. Recently, the topic of debate has been whether there should be limits on the development of gene-modifying technologies, specifically in embryo modification. This report examines the

Business are held to standards that promote fair business practices, prevent discrimination, and to do what is best for the consumers, this is a business responsibility should be taken seriously and monitored closely. The medical community is no different than any other business when it comes to responsibility, in fact, they are more than likely monitored more than non-medical companies. According to Sy Mukherjee (2017), 3 different research organizations have taken on the project of researching gene editing tool and have taken on the responsibility of seeking the advice of the ethics committee. Is gene editing ethical (right or wrong), that is the question that has been posed, having a child with a chromosome disorder, I also found myself

There has always been a decently sized gap between science and ethics. And the gap might be getting wider and wider as science takes off on its new explorations of the human body, while ethics attempts to fight back. There is no telling where the world of science is going. As long as it keeps expanding, there are going to be more and more risks taken throughout their experimentation. Gene editing is a very serious but amazing thing