The Is A Possible Future Effect Or Result? Essay

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.

Firstly, being able to detect genetic disorders, such as Down Syndrome, could result in the parents aborting the fetus. Margaret Somerville said in Choosing The Perfect Child,"In short, the new genetics is functioning as eugenics, but that fact is not identified. Decisions by individuals based on preimplantation genetic diagnosis of IVF embryos, or prenatal screening of foetuses mean we will eliminate certain groups of people, for example, Down's Syndrome children, from our society. In short, an outcome that would never be acceptable as public policy is being implemented through the accumulation of individual choices”(actionlife.org). To abort a child because of their genes are incorrect and need extra assistance with daily chores is selfish and inhuman. Not to mention, if a family had PGD on their child and received a false positive result, the unborn child could very well be killed needlessly. Then secondly, if all PGD got rid of all genetically transferred diseases, it could affect the world’s population. Since more lives would be saved, the world’s population would increase at an alarming rate. It would cause the the world’s resources dwindle down extensively and make the resources very

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.

Currently it is only legally possible to carry out two types of advanced reproductive technologies on humans. The first involves choosing the sperm to fertilize the egg, which will determine the sex and the genes of the baby. The second technique screens embryos for a genetic disease and only selected embryos are implanted back into the mother’s womb. This is called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).

Consequently, people with different cultures will have different views on gender selection. However, the biological components of the human race are the same. PGD is a technology that can be used on the human race. Therefore, PGD should be a technology that is open to anyone who is willing to use it but at the same time, there should be strict regulations on it to ensure that the universal moral code is maintained. Likewise, King argued that PGD most be strictly regulated, and that “we attempt to find some consensus about where to draw the lines around the application of PGD. (CITE)” The consequences of allowing PGD, even if it is strictly regulated, should be addressed. Many predictable consequences include full blown consumer eugenics, changes in the parent and child relationships, changes on a human being’s self perception, and many more. Thus, allowing PGD for gender selection may possibly be a gateway for a new type of culture, a culture of a different type of parent to child relationships and self-perception. Yet, this culture should be maintained so that it follows the universal moral code. The universal moral code should be a set of standards agreed upon and decided by majority of the cultures that exists

Using preimplantation gender selection is a well-known practice in the twenty-first century to select the sex of a child, but the ethical issues behind it raise many questions to the public. As stated in the “A Question of Gender: Sex Selection in Humans” essay, there are many ambivalent arguments for and against the use of the preimplantation gender selection (PGS). As stated in the essay, selecting the sex of a child to reduce health problems (X-linked diseases) and also reduce the family’s suffering in the future, such as, hemophilia or Duchenne muscular dystrophy. I would be able to understand and be able to appreciate parents’ decision to select the sex of their children only if it is due to medical issues, in my opinion there is no exception to that.

In the case of savior siblings there is an important reason for using genetic screening that does not apply to designer babies– saving a child’s life. Therefore, the slippery slope argument fails to justify a ban on savior siblings because there are important differences between savior siblings and designer babies (Sheldon and Wilkinson, 2004). Nonetheless is important that the practice of PGD is properly regulated so that its abuse can be prevented. In the case of Molly Nash, PGD was ethically acceptable because it was done for the right reasons and had no negative consequences.

For this reason PGD is mostly used when the parents carry genes for genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia. The first “designer babies” PGD babies were created in 1989 and born in 1990. The two families were at risk of passing a severe form of mental retardation. Since that gene was only found in males PGD was used to make sure the couples each had a girl healthy normal baby girls. One of the first cases of PGD being used for gender selection was when Monique and Scott Collins visited Genetics & IVF Institute in Fairfax, Virginia in 1996 wanting a daughter as their first two children were boys. Their decision to choose the sex of their child opened another world of issues regarding the selection of traits like hair and eye color, height and other aspects not usually related to the health of the baby (Ly, Sarah “Ethics of Designer Babies”) Society questions under what conditions should PGD be used and what impact will it have on the gene pool and the way we view our offspring. In 1994 a statement was released by the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs supporting genetic selection as a means to cure, prevent or specify diseases but selection of benign characteristics was unethical. (Ly, Sarah; Ethics of Designer Babies). In the near future with the advancement of biotechnology and genome modification will be possible to with TALENs used technology and the discovery of the CRISPR genomes and Cas9 (Sample, Ian. "GM

Being able to choose the gender of a baby will give the couple more time to prepare for the baby’s arrival because if the gender is known well in advance there's more time to get everything ready. I also believe that it is good for parents to be happy with the child being the gender they desire because the child will more likely fit into the family’s dreams. I don’t see why a couple should be deprived of an option that will increase their happiness and the well-being of their child. PGD can help subside the use of illegal means of gender selection. In some countries selection already happens, usually by selective abortion or abandonment of unwanted babies. This is a terrible waste of life and is very dangerous to the mother. The use of new technologies to allow gender selection at the beginning of pregnancy will hopefully reduce selective

A positive biological implication to PGD is that it can reduce the allele frequency of certain diseases. This is due to the affected embryos being discarded, so a healthy baby without the disease is born. Then they reproduce with a child that has less of a chance of carrying those alleles or having the disease. Another positive is that the embryo has less chance of having that tested for disease. This is important as it allows a couple with the opportunity to conceive with having less stress of having a child with a genetic condition.

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

What PGD is: Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis is a procedure used before implantation to identify genetic defects within embryos. It is used to prevent certain genetic diseases or disorders from being passed on to the child by detecting irregularities in the number or structure of embryo chromosomes. The embryos used in the process are generally created through in vitro fertilisation and PGD is used with an IVF cycle to increase the potential for a successful pregnancy and delivery. PGD refers specifically to when one or both genetic parents have a known genetic abnormality. PGS refers to techniques where embryos from chromosomally normal genetic parents are screened for aneuploidy (Abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell.) PGD and PGS

Socio-scientific issues are ‘controversial social issues which relate to science’(6). PGD is a socio-scientific issue because there is no right or wrong answer. PGD can be beneficial as it can be used to identify specific abnormalities that run in families. However, it can also be controversial, because affected embryos are left to perish, and this goes against many peoples’ belief that life starts at conception; so perishing embryos are considered to be dead babies. PGD is perceived differently by different cultural groups, making it an issue that is highly debated wherever IVF is available. It is an ‘open problem that has multiple solutions’(5).

Reproduction plays an important role in the stages of life. Unfortunately, for some, infertility prevents this from happening. By definition, infertility is “a disease or condition that results in the abnormal functioning of the male of female reproductive system, which interferes with the ability of a man or woman to achieve a pregnancy or of a woman to carry pregnancy to live birth” (Gilbert, 2007). Those who suffer from infertility have the desire to bear children and raise a family. Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) have made the desires of bearing children a reality. IVF is fertilization of an egg in a laboratory dish or test tube; specifically: fertilization by mixing sperm with eggs surgically removed from an ovary followed by uterine implantation of one or more of the resulting fertilized eggs. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a procedure used prior to implantation to help identify genetic defects within embryos (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, n.d.). PGD is preceded by IVF. In 1998, a couple using IVF contacted the Centre for Medical Genetics to request to prescreen a selected embryo in the hopes of finding an identical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) donor sibling (Pennings, 2002). Since this request and procedure has taken place, more requests have been made to prescreen embryos. This has created attention among the media and public. In my opinion, PGD is unethical because an individual can discard unwanted