In this day in age, where looks are almost everything when getting and going where you want, having a child with perfect genes is something to brag about. Allowing a parent to choose the perfect genes is not so far off in the future, in fact, it is now possible to pick some of the genes of a baby to make a “perfect” child. A procedure called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, has been used for years by doctors who wanted to reduce the chance of women carrying babies infected with life-threatening diseases. PGD was first used to improve the likelihood of a successful pregnancy for couples suffering with recurring miscarriages and parents who had the chance of passing on genetic diseases to their offspring. Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg, a …show more content…
Even PGD, only used in the best ways possible, to lower the possibility of a child inheriting a disease, was, and is, still a controversial issue and has become an even bigger issue today. Jessica Berg, an associate professor of law and bioethics at Case Western Reserve University, said PGD also raises concerns about how society will begin to perceive people with disabilities, along with the parents who chose to have them. Berg (2003) says: While we hope our children are healthy, the ability to pick ahead of time might lead to some unintended consequences. Society may be inclined to view parents who don't use this technology as irresponsible. Insurance companies may deny coverage to a child born with cystic fibrosis, saying ‘Look, you knew you could have an unhealthy child.’ Although no serious health effects have been linked to PGD, there has not been any rigorous long-term testing on this procedure. Many people agree that it seems highly likely that PGD may have a few long-term health effects because a cell is being removed from an embryo. A few studies using mice as the PGD recipients have shown a higher risk of weight gain and memory loss in adulthood. One main reason why this procedure should be banned is because of the cost of this procedure. No one less than the upper-middle class is able to afford this price. The PGD test itself costs about $3,000.
Though the use of pre-natal hereditary screening is as of now utilized as a part of high-hazard pregnancies for recognition of illness, for example, Down syndrome and Huntington 's chorea (Ridley 55, 98). As researchers decide the qualities for extra hereditary conditions, screening of incipient organisms will give more data to potential biological parents, former to their offspring has advanced. On the off chance that a screened embryo were found to convey qualities for a specific malady or inability, its guardians may specifically prematurely end it. This gives parents a choice of raising a child with a disability or back out if they don’t have the means to support the child financially, physically, emotionally or mentally. This is a good thing despite what others say because if a child is born with a disability in to family that doesn’t have the means to support it, it is unfair to all parties
Many people have a negative outlook on prenatal genetic testing but that is because they are not educated on the goals
A Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a test that “allows future parents to detect genetic defects that cause inherited disease in human embryos before they are implanted.” One of the most ethical questions that one might ask before considering the PGD is whether the benefits of genetic knowledge outweigh harmful effects that occur to the embryo? Is it really worth manipulating embryos genes in order to achieve the desire of the parents? Often times we have to take into considerations the risk and benefits of each situation. I believe that the PGD test should be only be done to detect genetic defects, but it should not be used to manipulate genes in order to make what to them is a “perfect” child. As stated in our text, “ In the united Kingdom alteration of an embryos genes, even for gene therapy or cloning embryos is illegal.” By manipulating genes its like going against Gods wishes. In the eyes of God every person that comes into this world is equally seen as a human being because they are all created in “ the image of God.” In this case the parents should not be allowed to manipulate the genes of their unborn child just to accommodate to their
PGD is known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosing. I do not think it is ethical to design and conceive a child that meets specific genetic requirements. I do not feel that this is an ethical reason to conceive a child. Rather, I believe all children should be seen as blessings or gifts, not sacrificial genetic progeny.
Think about a blind person walking alone, consider the dangers, the person could walk into citizens, get hit by a vehicle and trip over. You can help blind people around Queensland by donating money to Guide Dogs Queensland (GDQ). In Australia 90,000 Australians are blind and 300,000 Australians have low vision, condition, which is when people have less than 1% of sight. GDQ gives freedom to citizens who are blind or low vision. Think about the blind or low vision citizen, they have no peace, freedom and independence, GDQ can let citizens gain that freedom, independence and peace. GDQ assists people who are blind or have low vision gain freedom and independence to move safely and confidently around their communities. How would you feel if you
Over 7,500 animals are killed in zoos because they are deemed surplus, as stated by Liz Tyson an animals rights activist. This giraffe in particular sparked a huge controversy. HIs name was Marius, he was homed at the Copenhagen Zoo and was 2 years old when the staff killed him with a bolt gun. Marius was then dissected and fed to lions in front of ongoing zoo goers. What got people fuming is that he was a healthy, young giraffe. Therefore I believe the killing of Marius should not be justified.
Transition: So what should we say about the positives and negatives of Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis?
Prenatal genetic testing is not intrinsically different from other medical exams or tests. The results are varied degrees of accuracy which limit the prognosis, but make it possible for parents to prepare for the birth of a potentially disabled child or to avoid the possible defects and abort the fetus (Denier, 2010). This prenatal genetic diagnosis (PGD) is routine in the United States although the patient must consent or use autonomy to refuse testing.
This essay will discuss the concerns mentioned in Sheldon’s article Should Selecting Savior Siblings Be Banned? Through the use of PGD, Sheldon’s arguments of designer babies and slippery slopes and mean, ends, and commodification, critically evaluated in the favor of banning “savior siblings”. A preimplantation genetic diagnosis, known as PGD, is a screening test that physicians use to determine the presence of genetic and/or chromosomal disorders in intro fertilization embryos.
United States genetic centers now offer DNA tests for over 30 or 40 of the more commonly inherited disorders. Those including cystic fibrosis, susceptibility to breast cancer, X syndrome, Huntington’s disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and many other various disorders (Golden). Also, with recent developments, couples are able to have a pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This procedure allows the testing of genetic disorders before germination. It consists of “petri-dish” testing of sperm and egg cells donated by the soon to be parents. This procedure prevents the idea of abortion, for if genetic problems occur, you are not destroying a fetus, but simple flushing away embryo cells.
One advantage is the ability to reduce the risk for diseases. Through procedures like pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), one can inspect embryos created by in vitro fertilization (IVF) for many genetic conditions (Macklin, 2014, para. 1). While this process can be extremely beneficial ensuring the health of future generations, it can be misused in many ways.
The element of excitement when procreating offspring ceases with the development of Genetic Engineering. Parents will no longer wonder if their child will have grandma’s curly brown mane or Uncle Todd’s piercing gray gaze. The scientific breakthrough in technology of Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), originally created to screen diseases in embryos, has now become tantamount to an online shopping cart for determining cosmetic traits. To the parents who wish to decide what their children look like, you may be headed in the direction of becoming Adolf Hitler Lite. Using reproductive technologies to determine cosmetic features borders on scientifically useless and irresponsible, as it is basically a guise to revive eugenics.
To consider beneficence, the health professional and prospective parents must be certain that there actually will be some benefit and understand that there is a great risk of being unable to produce a child, therefore resulting in no benefit, and possibly causing harm, both physically and emotionally. They must also consider whether it is worth the risk, and that solely depends on the details of the situation. Would it benefit all parties, including the child? If there is a higher health risk to the mother to go through pregnancy, does the benefit outweigh
However, while all of these reasons might be valid to some parents, they are always people who oppose these modern technologies. Hilary Freeman disagrees. She feels parents would want to be able to choose merely for social reasons. Plus, she values the ideal that “babies are not commodities. They are not born to satisfy our desires or dreams and we cannot dispose of them if they don’t meet our requirements” (2). She feels that there is one and only one condition in which the parents should be able to choose; and this is on the basis of medicinal purposes. If the child is likely to inherit genes for a condition which is harmful to them such as hemophilia or muscular dystrophy. She also adds that wanting a balanced family is a shallow concept. She doesn’t agree with it, or see any value in it.
Although PGD is a relatively new procedure, there are several ethical questions surrounding its use. One question is, "Should parents be allowed to choose characteristics for their children that are not related to disorders such as their baby’s eye color, personality, or even the sex of their baby?" [Wekesser,1996]. Until the genes responsible for inherited traits such as the previously mentioned are mapped, this is not an issue. If scientists do not know where the gene is located, they are unable to create a test determining the presence of the gene. However, because we do know how the sex of a child is determined, a specific gender can be screened for. Many believe that this should