Informative Essay: Is Genetic Testing Important?

   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

As you can see genetic testing is very important and can affect a child's and parents lives for the better and the worst. Children all over the world have serious genetic diseases that affect their life on a daily. Some of these diseases are Achondroplasia, Down syndrome, and Turner's syndrome. Many believe genetic testing is a good way to test for these genetic conditions before the child is even born, but others think that it can harm the baby very badly and even cause a miscarriage, so they choose not to do this kind of testing. Knowing about the most serious genetic diseases is very important for expecting parents to be informed as well as being

Genetic testing, can affect a person’s life in many ways. Genetic testing is a type of medical testing that identifies changes that occur in chromosomes, proteins, and genes. These changes that occur can be associated, and often are associated with inherited

In Improvements in Prenatal Genetic Testing Raise Ethnic Issues, R. J. Crayton produced an article about prenatal testing and whether or not parents should be allowed to have these tests done. First the situation of a high risk baby who will have a disability or defect after birth, so the parents decide to abort the child is being viewed as an inequality to the disabled community. Secondly, certain adoptions are put on hold since the biological parents chose to not carry the unborn child through the entire pregnancy, however, the surrogate mother wants to carry the child through the entire term. Lastly, research shows that the results can be a false positive, so unintentionally the parents decide not to keep the unknown, but healthy baby.

“When families get a diagnosis prenatally, they use the words ‘shock’, ‘sadness’, ‘disbelief’”, says Sarah Cullen of the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress. “ You feel like like the rug is pulled out from under you. You feel very heavy. You feel very, very alone” (Szabo 1). When parents receive the results of their prenatal test, many do not know what to do. They can feel very overwhelmed, because their baby is unhealthy and there may be nothing that they can do about it. Often the doctor does not know what to do either, because there may not be a cure for the disease.This kind of news alone is agonizing for parents. Mothers should not have genetic testing done to see if their baby has diseases because it causes unnecessary anxiety for the parents, tests may not always be accurate, and it is unethical.

Finally, although there are many obvious benefits to the use of genetic screening, after all it would potentially save companies millions in training fees, some things are definitely better left to chance. If we start meddling with our own fate too much, we lose the very things that make us human, our imperfections, and that is who we are, and we can't sacrifice

Ever heard of Genetic Testing? It’s a branch of Genetic Science (Genetic Science is pretty much characterizing the etiology of illness.) that involves testing the Genome to find mutations that cause disease or will cause disease, an example of this being the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, these genes can get a massive variety of genetic mutations that cause cancer. ("Genetic Testing for Cancer: A Complex Decision.") All in all it’s a slowly building advancement in science that’s slowly increasing to a field of massive size. “You know, every week, there’s a new company, there’s a new test, there’s a new competitor.” ("Will Sequencing Your Genes Change The Way You Live ? And Die?.") However it has a lot of controversy and quite a few ethical issues that come along with it, an example being the fact that people that already have defects tend to dislike these tests.(Middleton) However if human lives could be saved or even made better because of this, then why shouldn’t it be allowed to progress? Genetic Testing is definitely a good thing and the field should be allowed to advance. It could save thousands upon thousands of lives. The benefits that come from Genetic Testing far outweigh the risks that come with it.

Genetic Testing carries a particular set of ethical, legal, or social implications, depending on the reasoning behind the testing. For example is the test for medical purposes, diagnostic, or predictive with a treatment? Or is the testing done for personal decision-making reasons? That is, predictive without a treatment, carrier, or prenatal? In any circumstance, privacy and confidentiality are critical because the genetic results are directly related to an individual’s identity. Not only is confidentiality an issue for health care, but to prevent genetic discrimination in insurance coverage and employment, as well. Information from a genetic test can affect an entire family. If the disorder is either genetically dominant or carried by an individual,

genetic testing, everything has changed. She notes that clinicians now have the ability to diagnose, treat, and monitor a patient’s illnesses or disease progression in an entirely different manner. This is a far cry from the old medical model of responding to a disease (or defect) only after it appears, and then prescribing the recommended medication or intervention. These genetic medical advances sound miraculous and promising, but the ability to test, screen and provide early intervention does not come without many major ethical dilemmas.

There are both pros and cons to genetic screening and the underlying question is. Is genetic screening an ethical solution to human life? A person who is having, carrying, or is at risk of a disorder is subject to genetic testing. Pre-natal diagnosis for a genetic condition is available in the case of diseases like Down's syndrome. The increasing range of genetic tests for an increasing range of disorders made possible by human genome research offers parents much greater informed choice of whether or not to continue with a pregnancy. Pre-natal diagnosis have a major effect on individuals and their families with a history of a genetic disorder. Known genetic traits or conditions (such as colour blindness) have been screened for many years.

The subject matter of genetic testing was at the most extreme in this particular motion picture. I have known for quite some time that these undertakings could be achieved with the knowledge and scientific discoveries that we have today, however, it made me feel distraught that the world could possibly one day come to that. It was so aesthetic and some would say monotonous. What is really disheartening is that like Ethan’s character, who was so intelligent, trained his body to be strong, and had so much to give this world, he could have been deprived of living out his dream simply due to not being picture-perfect. I can recognize performing genetic testing is a necessity if there is suspected illness or disease. By all means test me or any

If you have a family history of a genetic disorder or belong to an ethnicity that has a high risk of a certain genetic disorder, you may have genetic testing before you have children to see if you are a carrier and can pass on that disease to the child.

With the advent of genetic testing many disease conditions can be predicted and in case of prenatal genetic testing the parents are provided with information about the potential occurrence of a particular disease condition to provide them an opportunity to make an informed decision to continue with pregnancy or not. This will save a lot of families who are not financially sound from the possible economic burden. In case of genetic testing post birth, it allows the person to be more cautious and help make better decisions such as family planning etc. However with the

This would mean that this testing would be more affordable for the commoner. Once testing has been completed and data interpreted, someone will know if they are a carrier for a genetic disorder. If it turns out that they are, instead of waiting for symptoms to arise, genetic treatment of the disease can be done to save the person’s life before it is even in jeopardy. This could prove to be very helpful. People spend thousands of dollars on treatments for a genetic disorder, and the treatments do not even fully rid the patient of the disease. The patient will have to take the medication for the rest of their life to calm the symptoms of that disease. With the advancement of gene therapy, a patient could receive a minimal number of treatments which will not just calm the symptoms but rid the patient of their genetic disorder completely. This, in the long run, could save the patient time, money, suffering, and ultimately it will save their life. This is only the beginning. As time passes, doctors will have the knowledge to save many more lives in the same manner.