Genetic Testing and Its Social Implications Essays

   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

Many people have a negative outlook on prenatal genetic testing but that is because they are not educated on the goals

There are two main ways genetic testing places a constraint on a child’s right to an open future. The first of these is that the revelation of a child’s disease status can change his life narrative and the way parents and others treat him, and substantially alter his or her life’s trajectory (Davis _____). Parents may feel guilty or shelter their not-yet-sick

There are possible objections to this controversy due to the possible advantages of the genetic tests. It can be argued that genetic tests can match people with the right occupations and enhance the best given traits

One main reason why it's bad to test your kid genetically without their consent is that it causes children to get bad anxiety. According to kids who “have a brother or sister who has been shown to carry that gene alteration, they may feel guilty at having escaped the increased cancer risk, while their siblings is at risk.” This quote shows a reason why a child might get anxiety. They could feel guilty about escaping a cancerous gene while their sibling is at risk of getting it sometime during their life. Another example to support the idea of testing kids causes anxiety is in Why We Should Think Twice About Giving Genetic Tests

What would you do if an immediate family member of yours developed a popular genetic disease and there was a possibility of you having it? Wouldn’t you want to know whether or not you had it as well, in your genes? Genetic testing allows for people to know if they have a certain genetic disease, if they need to get a certain treatment plan set up, or if there are ways to prevent it from becoming present or visible in the body. Genetic Discrimination is no longer legally allowed, meaning that there is no longer a need to fear the possibility of your genetic information getting into the wrong hands. Genetic testing should be done by anyone who may have a chance of developing any type of disease that could be life-threatening or not.

Genetic testing refers to scientific diagnostics of an individual’s genetic composition. The test analysis the DNA in a person’s blood for genotypes, mutations or variations that can cause certain diseases and physical disabilities. Genetic testing has become popular secondary to the increasing desire of people in developing awareness of their genetic make-up and related potential susceptibility to debilitating diseases. There has been a public recognition of an increased risk of individuals being subjected to discrimination by employers, heath insurance companies and other organizations when one’s genetic information is disclosed. The inevitable need to protect people from discrimination by employers and businesses secondary to genetic information became clearly evident leading to efforts culminating in the passage of the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) which was signed into law in 2008. This paper will clearly present a comprehensive summary of the significant events which resulted in the adoption of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The interpretation and application of the Genetic Information

"Now we know, in large measure, our fate is in our genes." famous words that were stated by the co-founder of DNA's double helix structure, James Watson. In a large effect, in this day of modern science belief our fate is controlled by our genes. Our genes control our physical statue, our outward appearance, basically our entire bodily makeup is all determined by our genes. Mankind is at the edge of a new frontier in genetic medicine and gene therapy and how man advances into this field greatly dep ends on his ethics, morals, and the general acceptance of this new found knowledge. At the heart of the subject lies the controversy over genetic screening. Many questions arise such as; Who should be tested? Who should have access to the

If an adult doesn’t want to get tested, then that’s their fault and can cause a stop in their family history to stop. Genetic testing is a very important part of every human being’s life.

In this article very effectively described outcome of growing and developing of genomic testing in today society. It showed how far medicine has gone and how much benefits it gives populations. Genomic testing also deliver undesirable finding which creates ethical dilemma in nursing. Because nursing role is advocate for participant in genomic testing, he or she should protect autonomy and beneficence of participants. In the same time taking full advantage of benefits of the research and benefit society. This ethical dilemma not easy to solve, where so many benefits and harms could be done through incidental genetic finding. This article very well described how nurse should act to protect any misconception between participant and researcher in the testing in proper ethical way. It also effectively describe which guidelines and criteria should be use to balance between the best interest of the individual and society. These guidelines are critical social theory and balance between benefits to harm. it described autonomy of

Genetic testing is not a new technology to modern medicine. Some tests are already in effect, one example being that all states currently test infants for phenylketonuria, a genetic disorder that causes mental retardation if left untreated. According to Horowitz, “All states must screen for at least 21 disorders by law, and some states test for 30 or more.” All of these tests are performed on newborn babies, usually before they even leave the hospital. This has been great for catching thousands of genetic diseases before symptoms start to show and problems form. However, these tests are done after birth, and the parents are forced to accept the baby, and whatever problems are associated with a baby with genetic diseases. For some parents are ok with this scenario and will pay the necessary bills, whereas other parents may wish they weren’t always in the hospital with their kid, paying expensive bills. But with preimplantation genetic diagnosis these problems can be exposed before it fully develops and the parents can decide on if they want to deal with the kid ("A Brief Primer on Genetic Testing").

All parents should have the choice to let their child be tested for future health problems and it should not be a law. We do not know what the future truly holds for technology and health issues. The testing of genetics should continue though because of those parents like of Cora, who have given that consent to find future health issues. The people who are in charge of the genetic testing need to inform those that it may not be a 100% accurate, the risks of finding something that has no cure, and the possible future hacking along with genetic

Another huge problem people have with genetic testing is that we might go overboard with it. With that I mean people might be given medicine for things that might happen. I’m positive that real doctors won't give any drugs to people unless they’re 100 percent sure of the disease. If it’s determined that the child has an increased risk of cancer, parents will just be warned and told the symptoms to look for.

I agree that family nurses must keep an open mind concerning patient’s decisions regarding genetic testing, as well as their decisions made as a result of testing. After further exploring the statistics concerning the monogenic diseases considered in this discussion including sickle cell, cystic fibrosis, and Huntington’s disease, family nurses must consider the emotional stressors associated with the decisions this couple must make.

Although genetic testing can cause fear to the American people about their future health, this new type of testing can lead to significant break throughs about a person's health and what they can do to preserve it. This test, although fairly new to American culture, has helped many people find out health problems they never knew they had. For example, a friend of mine heard about these tests and being the health freak she is, went to get it done. She found out that she had Celiac Disease and if untreated, she could have developed cancer. With these findings, she stopped eating gluten and now knows how important it is to preserve her body now so she can live a healthy life for the future. Other stories of Americans taking this test lead to the