Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Essay

Many medical advances are being made today in the area of genetics. One of the most talked about is prenatal genetic testing. The purpose of prenatal genetic testing is to obtain information on a baby's health before they are born. This new technology will definitely improve the quality of human life. Diseases will be diminished and through new advances some diseases might even be eliminated. Children will be at less risk to have major health problems in their lives adding positively to their life experience. Prenatal genetic testing will also affects society as a whole.

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

o If so, is PGD ethical in all cases? (prevent miscarriages, prevent inheritable genetic diseases, sex selection for social reasons, etc).

Derek Parfit in “Energy Policy and the Further Future” presents the dilemma of whether or not there is a moral difference between allowing thousands of children to be born with an illness and later cured, or rather never allowing these same children to be born and instead have a “different child” come out of the child bearing process with their health fully intact. In the case in which funding can only be attributed to one of these circumstances, I would support the situation in which doctors performed Preconception Testing. I feel as though this is the most morally acceptable answer because it would prevent a human life from having to endure an unnecessary handicap. Regardless of the fact that children in the first example would eventually

In reproductive technology, ethical decisions should focus on the good of the children, their individual parents, and families, and let us not forget the good health and common good of the larger society (Morrison, 2009). Exercising the principles of ethics can assist in finding common ground in NRT. Bioethical issues include the appropriate use of pre-implantation genetic diagnostic screening, use, storage and destruction of excess IVF embryos, and research involving embryos. “NRT research requires human participants, donors and donated embryos, oocytes and sperm” (Adelaide Centre for Bioethics and Culture, 2013). Ethics committees have detailed expected behaviors/regulations that are supposed to be followed if participating in this type of medical treatment. In fact, advisory groups and researchers have encouraged participants to disclose the fact of gamete donation to the offspring, and some clinics will aid in assisting future contact if all members agree. (American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2014). As a minimum, donors, and recipients have an obligation to disclose non-identifying medical information. Should a medical issue arise in the future, all participants have a

What is over-reaching? The definition may be unclear in many retrospects, but the true definition is ‘certain areas in knowledge that humans should not “explore or cross”. Throughout history there has been over-reaching of all types; examples of past and present societal over-reaching has been; Amelia Earhart attempting to circle the globe in a plane consequently ending with her disappearance over the Bermuda Triangle, the new idea of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis allowing technology to identify genetic diseases in a child’s DNA or even changing the appearance of your baby to have a “designer baby”, Henry Worsley attempting to become the first person in history to cross the Antarctic continent alone, with no aid from outside sources,

Bioethical issues include life-prolonging treatments, organ transplantation, medical physician-assisted suicide, abortion, new reproductive technologies, and recent advances in genetics diagnosis and therapy. Such issues often prove to be controversial and can leave us questioning a lot. New medical treatments and technologies often do not come with sufficient precedents to guide our moral reasoning where the life of a woman is in danger. Illegal abortions are common worldwide and carry a high risk of complications, including severe bleeding, infertility, or death often occur. One of the most common reasons for abortions at the latter stage of pregnancy is detection that the fetus has a serious genetic defect. With currently approved technology, these procedures can only be done later in pregnancy. Another common reason is that the woman is young or in denial about her pregnancy, and does not seek an abortion until she is unable to hide it.

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).

According to “Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: Ethical or not?” Janet Malek, a bioethicist at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, states in quote “... people who carry a gene like GSS have a moral duty to use preimplantation diagnosis -- if they can afford it -- to spare the next generation.” end quote. Going by what she says and the high price of about $20,000, which means if you aren't extremely wealthy you won’t be able to afford this, so most of the population wouldn’t be able to afford this service. Which means it is only accessible to a select few, therefore making it less effective. Another and the final problem with this system is brought to light by David Wasserman, a ethicist at Yeshiva University and consultant, said in quote “there is no obligation to use it for diseases that do not start until adulthood. Eliminating embryos with such genes is essentially saying someone like Ms. Kalinsky should never have been born.” end quote. As true and controversial as Wasserman stated he speaks the truth. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis should be reserved for either heavily crippling or life threatening diseases. Reasoning is if an adult contracts a disease such as GSS and then does have money to pay for a Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis procidure then should be allowed to get the operation, but for people who want to ensure the sex of their kid should find something else to spend their money

“For years, reproductive specialists have been helping people become parents, even enabling them to choose the sex of their baby. One fertility doctor is taking things a step further, offering what some are calling ‘designer babies,’ as Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman reports” (CBS News). Though designer babies are not yet feasible, choosing the gender of the baby is. This is possible through in-vitro fertilization, a process in which an egg is retrieved from a mother and sperm is donated by a father, then combined together in a lab to make a fertilized egg. During this process, it is possible for the parents to allow the egg to go through Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis. PGD is when embryologists remove a cell from the

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.

New technological advances and scientific methods continue to change the course of nature. One of the current controversial advances in science and technology is the use of genetically modified embryos in which the study exceeds stem cell research. Scientists have begun planning for research involving human embryos in the genetic modification field. Many technological developments are responsible for improving our living standards and even saving lives, but often such accomplishments have troubling cultural and moral ramifications (Reagan, 2015). We are already beyond the days in which virtually the only procreative option was for a man and a woman to conceive the old-fashioned way (Reagan, 2015). Genetic modification of human embryos can be perceived as a positive evolution in the medical process yet it is surrounded by controversy due to ethical processes. Because this form of genetic modification could affect later born children and their offspring, the protection of human subjects should be a priority in decisions about whether to proceed with such research (Dresser, 2004). The term Human Genetic Engineering was originally made public in 1970. During this time there were several methods biologists began to devise in order to better identify or isolate clone genes for manipulation in several species or mutating them in humans.

When parents have a child that has some type of life threatening disease, they want to do everything possible to save their child’s life. Stem cells from umbilical cord blood offer a last resort for many parents in order to save their child. To obtain the genetically matched stem cells, parents look toward medical technology in the shape of pre-implantation genetics disease. Pre-implantation genetics is where there is a genetic survey of embryonic cells prior to their implantation into a uterus. Its advantage is to screen for genetic diseases prior to implantation to prevent abortion. Many parents of critically ill children look to pre-implantation genetics to provide biological material to effect a treatment or cure of the older sibling. The pre-implantation genetic egg will become a donor sibling. The donor sibling is intended to save the life of the sick child by donating umbilical cord blood or bone marrow. The donor sibling is like a savior sibling.

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

One thing that many people disagree upon is whether or not eugenics and genetic cloning is ethically right or wrong. On one hand, it could eliminate children being born with life threatening diseases by forewarning parents of potential medical problems. “It is known that hemophilia, albinism, and certain structural abnormalities are inheritable. Family gene maps, called pedigrees, can help families with serious diseases avoid having children with the same diseases through genetic counseling, and, increasingly, prospective parents can be tested directly for the presence of undesired genes.” (Prothero)