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Essay on Genetic Engineering is Unethical

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“Just as the success of a corporate body in making money need not set the human condition ahead, neither does every scientific advance automatically make our lives more meaningful'; (Wald 45). These words were spoken by a Nobel Prize winning biologist and Harvard professor, George Wald, in a lecture given in 1976 on the Dangers of Genetic Engineering. This quotation states that incredible inventions, such as genetic engineering, are not always beneficial to society. Genetic engineering is “altering the genetic material of cells and/or organisms in order to make them capable of making new substances or performing new functions'; (Wald 45). It is also one of the top controversial issues of the 20th century (Epstein 1). Many believe that …show more content…

Such consequences as segregation between altered and unaltered humans, civil war, mistreatment and disrespect of cloned humans and other severe damages will occur if genetic engineering is continually approved by science. In order to save society from future destruction, genetic engineering should be stopped. Clearly, genetic engineering causes unethical occurrences in society and should cease.

The second reason genetic engineering is unethical and should be stopped is due to the fact that it involves reconstructing nature, which is not the job of society. Genetic engineering could potentially breed new animal and plant diseases, new sources of cancer, novel epidemics and other serious problems in which nature cannot conquer (Epstein 4). Many scientists argue that genetic engineering has a positive outcome, and occurrences such as diseases or other casualties in nature’s balance should be ignored (Bereano 18). Co-discoverer of the DNA code and Nobel Laureate, Dr. James D. Watson, has continuously disregarded the risks of genetic engineering (Bereano 19). In 1979, he wrote the following about possible diseases that might be inadvertently created through genetic engineering: “I would not spend a penny trying to see if they exist'; (Bereano 19). The above statement clearly shows that society cannot depend on the “high priests'; of science to make ethical decisions (Bereano 18). Too much is at stake.

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