The Pros And Cons Of Genetic Testing

   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

False positive prenatal testing results lead to hundreds of thousands of abortions each year; even when the baby is healthy. Lastly the society often presumes that people with genetic disorders could not get a job and fulfill their lives, however from Waterloo’s 10 year research; it is clear that they could get a job and graduate from high school and fulfill their lives just like everybody else. It is time for the society to stop performing prenatal testing. Further, change and accept people with genetic disorders, because all humans are born

The medical advances being made feasible by genetic testing are very exciting. It is possible for people with predispositions for genetic defects to know in advance if they will have a healthy child or not. If they find out there is a problem they can choose to terminate the pregnancy or they can prepare in advance for their child's special needs. There is even new technology called Ex Utero genetic testing. This test is performed on eggs fertilized through in vitro fertilization before they are even put in the mother's uterus. Understanding genes in the developing human will help doctors understand the nature of genetic diseases and may lead to countless other medical breakthroughs. Though it is probably a long way off doctors may one day be able to manipulate genes. If this is possible some genetic problems may be cured.

These methods of genetic testing are accurate, as long as the genetic origin of the tested disease is known (Mahdieh & Rabbani, 2013), but their reliability is harmed by the fact that the results determine probability of diseases occurring (Holt, 2012). Even though a test accurately determines the presence of a given mutation, that mutation may only indicate a patient’s predisposition to developing symptoms. Since other genes or environmental factors may play a part in the tested disease, the results of testing aren’t entirely reliable for a conclusion of whether or not a patient will develop the disease.

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

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

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.

Genetics are the foundation of every human make up, but most people have little to no knowledge of their own foundation. Though some people believe that the encryption of their genetics ruins the surprise in life, other people want to be as prepared as possible for any issues that are encoded in their genetics and cannot be prevented. Genetic counselors test people of any age to uncover a mysterious condition. Counselors can find the likelihood that an adult will develop cancer or will develop a condition that starts in the late stages of life. With the new knowledge, a patient can be better prepared for their future. Counselors can also complete prenatal work by focusing on the parents’ genetics. They test for conditions like down syndrome

In the article, “Sequencing the Unborn”, by Kai Kupferschmidt discusses a new procedure that could change the way how genetic diseases are found in fetuses. Currently doctors are able to extract some fluid in the womb or placenta, has a one percent probability that it could cause a miscarriage. However a chemical pathologist, Dennis Lo discovered that there is enough of the fetuses DNA in the mothers. Instead using the previous method mentioned, parents and doctors could instead use the ten percent of fetus DNA that is in the mothers' blood. This can still be quite tricky, Lo stated when knowing the parent's haplotypes, it is possible to figure out the fetuses genome.

Fertility doctors could use the test to find out which embryos where healthy and which where not .They could then select only the healthy embryos for implantation there for eliminating the risk of such disorders (Moyer, M. W. 2014) Lets look at a case study. When it comes to decision making, designing a genetically modified child may be necessary to save another child’s life.

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.

Its up to the doctor and parents of that child to decide whether the risk of choosing for the child is worth it or not. It is clear that there has been proof that this big decision can be ethical and unethical, leading to only more controversy.

I think that people should be able to go through genetic testing. If a person feels it’s the best thing they can do for their health they shouldn’t be questioned. Anyone that gets genetic testing should know all the pros and cons before the process. If a person couldn’t handle the outcome of genetic testing they wouldn’t choose to do it. No one should really have a choice on what another

4. Is it right that they would risk having another child inflicted with the same disease in order to possibly save their current child?

Every living thing is the product of the genes that were passed down from ancestors. Genes make up everything we are. One gets their traits from their parents. Most people live full lives with relatively good health. However, some people inherit mutated genes or faulty genes. This could lead to genetic disorders that could be life threatening. Even today, many genetic disorders still remain incurable, leaving many people without hope. Genetic therapy could be their answer. It is through this research that the cure for genetic disorders can be found. Though some people believe it is unethical or immoral to alter genes, current therapeutics have not been able to save the lives of the patients with these diseases. Genetic therapy