Why Is Gattaca Unethical

Life extensions are critically dependent on futuristic medical advancements. However, a strong noble compass is needed to ensure scientific advancements do not cross moral ethics of life. Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, and the movie Gattaca, directed by Andrew Niccol, propose technologically advanced societies that challenge ethical and moral views. Although Brave New World and Gattaca relate in genetic discrimination, they differ in technology’s powers and limits, as well as the resiliency of the human spirit.

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

This section of Chalmers’ book makes the reader ponder the morality of medical experiments like abortions, stem cell research, and infanticide in the world today and questions whether we have learned from Nazi medical experiments in the past.

Medical advancements are very important for extending the quality and quantity of life, however a strong moral compass is needed to make sure, in the name of science, ethical and moral science are not crossed. Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, and the movie Gattaca propose a technologically advanced society that challenges these ethical and moral views. Although Brave New World and Gattaca relate in the aspect of genetic discrimination, they differ in the limits and powers of technology and the effects of human spirit.

The last 150 years have seen the origin of—and rapid expansion in—human knowledge involving the nature and mechanisms of trait and disease inheritance in human beings. Advances in genetic research hold great promise for the future development of effective prevention and treatment strategies for a great many, often devastating, heritable conditions. However, these advances also raise a series of policy, legal and fundamentally ethical questions concerning what we should and should not do with the knowledge and technology we acquire. These questions are numerous and both imminently practical and speculative, ranging from the exhausted, yet still largely unresolved, question of the moral status of the human embryo to fears about slippery slopes into a Brave New World or Gattaca-style dystopic future characterized by designer children and a genetic underclass.

Backstory In the dystopian future of "Gattaca," when genetic modification rules society, a person's destiny is predetermined by their genetic composition. Born naturally without genetic engineering, Vincent Freeman is considered an "in-valid" because of his inferior genetic makeup, although he has ambitions of exploring space. Vincent takes on the name of Jerome Eugene Morrow, a genetically superior "valid," in order to follow his goals in the face of discrimination and limited possibilities. By using cleverness and perseverance, Vincent manages to get hired by the famous space exploration company Gattaca Aerospace Corporation, where he will have to make his way through a world plagued by genetic screening.

Gina Kolata’s article, Ethics Questions Arise as Genetic Testing of Embryos Increases (2014), explains that as the increase of the testing of embryos for parents to choose whether or not to have children has also brought its ethical questions in the light. Kolata uses the Kalinskys case, a family in the article, and how their neurological disease, Gerstmann-Straussler-Schinker (GSS), has raised questions for ethicists who have looked into the case. Kolata’s purpose in writing this article is to inform the audience on the growing topic of embryo testing and also the ethical question that also accompany in order to have the audience to develop a personal view on the issue. Given how the author explains the technical terms used within the article, Kolata is writing to an audience that is not fully aware of genetic testing.

However this paper is designed to focus on other morally problematic aspects of fetal research. The first is that fetal research as it is now carried out today in the United States violates the human dignity of the unborn through violating agreed upon principles governing organ donations generally. Secondly the legal and moral restrictions imposed on fetal research not only have failed to secure ethical research but the nature of the research itself gives an incentive to morally problematic behavior.

Eugenics is a contentious topic of issue with many ethical implications, especially with advancements in current genetic science. It harbours different definitions to describe it, but they all subscribe to improve the human gene pool through selective reproductive practices, including prenatal testing or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (Wilkins & Garrard, 2). These practices are designed to reduce undesirable traits, such as genetic disease, or to increase desirable ones, such as effective immune systems or intelligence. In this paper, I discuss different controversial issues and ethical dilemmas in regards to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) practices and why PGD practices should not be supported.

Although this in itself arises another question who are the individuals that part take the decision of what is humane and what isn’t. This then arises the question of the morality of the doctors that in the future will partake in the creation of our children to not only be healthy but also as possibly eradicate several diseases. With cases such as the ones in Philadelphia committed by doctor Kermit Gosnell can serve us to question to think if we can trust doctors to not only keep us safe but make the desicion that ultimately benefit us and not their bank accounts. Consequently, this is one of the ethical issues with regards to designer babies because not only are we trusting one person to safely create our children and see them as humans and not a mass production that gives high earning objects.

“Idea of 'Designer' Babies with Defective Genes Stirs Ethics Questions.” Issues Researcher, Lincoln Courier, 19 Jan. 2007, sks.sirs.com/webapp/article?artno=0000256799&type=art. Accessed 12 May 2017.

Mothers that are expecting would have to offer their children to science before they were born, so they could be separated immediately. This raises a question about moral compasses, however. Is it morally and ethically okay for scientists to change the way children are raised? Frankenstein suffered a similar predicament. What is the “line” and who says it cannot be crossed?

The technology used by the Freemans to conceive Anton is similar to modern in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Furthermore, one contemporary use of biotechnology is preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which consists of extracting eight cells from an IVF-generated three-day-old embryo at risk of genetic disorder, and analysing its DNA to locate genes correlated with genetic defects. This technology proves beneficial as only embryos free of genetic defects are implanted into the uterus. Moreover, PGD enables parents to choose their children’s characteristics, such as gender, and, in the near future, other desirable traits like intelligence, akin to what occurs in Gattaca, which presents its devastating repercussions. PGD can be utilised to conceive a child with the purpose of saving another.

Although the intentions of genetically modifying DNA in human embryos is aimed to rid society of genetic defects, it is still essential that this scientific discovery remains ethical. In an article on NPR.org, Rob Stein describes an experiment that scientists have been conducting in which they modify human DNA in order to eliminate life threatening genetic diseases that could be passed on for generations (Stein). In Portland, at Oregon Health & Science University, Paula Amato, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, explains “that their work is aimed at preventing terrible diseases, not creating genetically enhanced people...much more research is needed to confirm the technique is safe and effective before anyone tries to make a baby this way”(Stein). Because scientists like Amato realize their research is controversial, they are taking every precaution to assure what they are doing is morally correct, they are not intending to corrupt society. Although their intentions are good, it is their job to make sure their research is being used in an ethical way. If not, millions of people, who are already obsessed with the idea of perfection, will be able to do something about

The movie Gattaca is set in the future, and is a story about a man named Vincent Freeman who dreams of traveling to the stars. In this future, society has developed categories that each person falls in to depending on their genetic makeup. In the film parents have the ability to choose specific genetic composition of their children. Vincent Freeman’s genetics leave him in the less than favorable category making his dreams of space travel at Gattaca Corporation impossible. As one of the last natural born babies in a sterile and genetically enhanced world, Vincent had poor eyesight, heart problems and was not expected to live past the age of 30. Society has determined that people such as Vincent are in an underclass of humans and are only good for menial jobs simply based on their genotype. Vincent’s dreams will not be stifled so he devises a scheme to buy another identity. He finds Jerome Morrow a former athlete with favorable genetics, and a paraplegic as the result of a tragic car accident. The two become skilled at deceiving DNA tests as well as urine and blood testing. With Vincent and Jerome’s plan in place Vincent finds himself in a position to join a crew planning to travel to one of Saturn’s moons, Titan. Unfortunately