Essay on Human Genetic Screening and Discrimination in Gattaca

   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

“Belonging to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of skin. Discrimination is now down to science (Gattaca).” This is the premise of Gattaca by Andrew Nicol; a film set in a not-so-distant future where genetics

These strands are separated by length using electrophoresis and detected automatically by computers to be analyzed (Lyons, 2004). Another method of genetic testing is extracting one cell from an 8-cell embryo and using preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PDG) to determine the presence of disorder-causing genes (Holt, 2012).

The movie “Gattaca” is a sci-fi movie that takes place in “the not-too-distant” future, where genetic engineering of humans is common. In this sci-fi future, class differences are construct is primarily determined by your DNA. In the movie society’s culture is ingrained with eugenics, evident by the clear institutionalized discrimination. Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices that aim at improving the genetic quality of the human population. Eugenics is not a “new” concept, people have been discriminating based on looks ever since prehistoric times. The movie inspired me to do some research on popular eugenics movements in the post-industrial age (1850-present). My primary goal of was to identify the motives behind early eugenics

The benefits of genetic science for society is for employers who want to know if their employers are in excellent working condition and if the worker will cause them more money when obtaining health insurance. If an employer hires someone that that is healthy then the cost of health insurance does not rise and the employee will not have to downgrade their health insurance plan so that they can accommodate the employee that is not healthy. The limitations of genetic science for society are the possibility of genetic testing causing safety issues at work, the development of a genetic low class, the breach of privilege and confidentiality, and the utilization of genetic bias to excuse different methods of discrimination (Krumm, 2002).

A theme in gattaca is genetic discrimination. In the aspetic society Vincent lives in ,ones life is genetically restrained even before the individual is born so that each person gets the “best possible start”. The sterile environment metaphorically captures a harsh authoritarian ambience favouring genetic perfection above anything else. It is a society that overpowers human desire and human relattionships. This becomes apparent through the mechanical robotic characters that live in Gattaca. Traits such as personality, beliefs, values and morals are useless. Identity in gattaca is seen in solely defined by ones individual status as a valid or in-valid. Other then this nothing else is relevent.The starting scenes in the film sets an atmosphere of controlled physical excellence. Vincent is shown shaving and exfoliating his skin.Vincent gathers a stray hair d from his keyboard and the space director ackknowledges his admirable cleaning habits, To which Vincent believes is “next to godliness”. There are extreme close-ups of human matter including blood, skin, hair , urine and fingernails. Extreme closeups are

A lot of controversial issues present themselves in psychology. Two topics that I will be discussing in this essay are the controversy over genetic testing and what things would be like without genetic testing. I will be describing what genetic testing is, and how it can affect an individual’s family life. I will be discussing the benefits of genetic counseling, as well as the positives without genetic counseling, and how this issue is debated in a psychological view.

The inclusion of genetic testing into Electronic Health Records impacts the overall healthcare of patient’s because it informs the physicians and other medical professionals the selection of effective treatment or preventive action. A manager’s responsibilities are to implement policies to protect the confidentiality, privacy, and security of genetic tests results and information of patient’s. Policies contributing to potential discrimination acts are also advised because genetic/genomic testing reveals a patient’s physical characteristics.

Genetic testing has become a highly controversial issue among both the general population and the scientific community. It is a process that exposes a person’s entire genome sequence, allowing it to be read and evaluated to identify potential risks for genetic diseases or diseases that could be passed onto offspring (Holt Productions, 2012). With thousands of genetic tests already being used, and more being established, it seems logical to put this growing technology to use. Some agree that it is a person’s right to know and understand his or her genetic makeup. However, others argue that, despite the benefits of genetic testing, caution should be used to carefully inspect the risks associated with this new technology.

Knowledge of the human genome, and an increase in the availability of genetic testing at lower cost has made genetic testing more popular.

An Enhanced Genotype: Ethical Issues Involved with Genetic Engineering and their Impact as Revealed by Brave New World

<br>4. The rights of knowing someone's own health status and keeping that information private to oneself should be provided to all members of a society. Only the individual should have full access to information about his own genetic constitution and others should be prevented by legal regulations. As we have said above, the results of genetic tests can sometimes be detrimental to the individual. If a person does not want to know the information, its nobody's business nor right to declare it. This includes even not explaining favorable test results without the individual's request.

If the genetic information is only accessible to the individual then there is a decreased chance of such discrimination occurring because the information is disclosed to who the individual wishes to. Genetic information can raise questions about personal responsibility, personal choice versus genetic determinism, and concepts of health and disease. Personal factors, family values, and community and cultural beliefs can mould the reactions to these issues. For example the response to the genetic information and suggestion from physicians after the test will be drastically different in a society where traditions and religion determine life choices, such as India, than to a more individually liberal society like the USA. Even in a progressive society that has had specific ethnic groups for multiple generations disparities with medical technology are common. A study conducted, using the national representative data, in the USA with the sample that consisted of 1724 men and women of non-Hispanic whites, Latinos, and African American background. Results exposed significant differences by racial/ethnic groups in knowledge and concerns about the potential misuse of genetic testing. Significantly higher levels of mistrust in a physician and the medical system was a common thread within minorities. The genetic tests can be a way of ridding anxiety attached to the assumed inheritance of genetic disease due to family background whilst for others the genetic test reveals their reality. The results can have a great deal of a psychological impact upon the individual. The possibility of developing a genetic disease alone can create anxiety within some. The psychological impact from the results revealed is another issue that society is concerned about. A

The Goal of the Human Genome Project is to obtain genetic mapping information and to determine the complete sequence of all human DNA by the year of 2005. The project started in 1990 and 180 million dollars are being spent on it annually. This adds up to a total of over 2 billion dollars for the 15 year budget. Of this 2 billion dollars budgeted, 5% is spent annually on the ethical, legal and social issues. This report focused on some of these issues.

The fear of genetic discrimination is a phobia gripping many people around the world. People find themselves asking, could my genetic information raise my health bills? Could this cause me to be rejected from a job opportunity? These anxieties are causing people to lash out at genetic research, and ultimately the human genome project. People do not want our understanding of human genomics to advance. This is because the risks of the development of the technology could inflict on them. A major risk is genetic discrimination. I believe that genetic discrimination is wrong and governments should continue to prevent it because it is an invasion of privacy, it violates equity, and it could really hurt people with genetic