Embryo's Genetic Code And Ethics Essay

439 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Pros of genetic alteration of embryos

The processes involved with editing an embryo’s genetic code are met with both opposition and excitement, depending on which side one chooses to take a stance. Scientists for the medical advancement along with wanting to create a new wave of embryonic enhancements in the future of genetic altering are encouraged by continued progressions in the field. Researchers for the practice believe it is essential to creating savior siblings, enhancing intellectual traits, editing out depression genes, making a more desirable child for a parent if they so desire, and eliminate the risk of inherited illnesses passed to a child. Researchers feel that by editing an embryo’s genetic code, it will then relieve stress on a family from having to cover the financial costs of having a child with disabilities. The experts for the procedure see the practice as making it more achievable to have a child free of deformities or other disabilities, especially for parents that both carry a harmful gene. The scientists also feel the disposal of unwanted embryos is them merely acting in the same way nature would, by creating a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) during a pregnancy. …show more content…

These researchers believe that by editing the genetic makeup of what could in some eyes be a perfectly normal embryo, to enhance their traits or intelligence, is going against the natural process and human development. Also disagreeing with the way embryos are discarded, stating it’s immoral, considering this to be against biblical founding. Experts against using the advancements for any other reason than to aid in allowing parents to raise a healthy child, also fear the creation of a “super race” in the future. A race where the intellectually advanced members are created to aid the government in some way,

Show More
Related

  • Ethical Dilemmas of Genetically Engineering Human Embryos

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    A person's individuality begins at conception and develops throughout life. These natural developments can now be changed through genetically engineering a human embryo. Through this process, gender, eye and hair color, height, medical disorders, and many more qualities can be changed. I believe genetically engineering a human embryo is corrupt because it is morally unacceptable, violates the child's rights, and creates an even more divided society.

    Read More

  • Neo-Eugenics The Social and Biological Ethics of Designer Babies

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    Neoeugenics is the idea of new, “neo”, eugenics or a new way of creating a healthier race. Eugenics was first defined in the late 1800s by a man named Sir Francis Galton who said that it was basically the study of traits that will cause an advantage or disadvantage in the traits of future generations. Eugenics soon turned from being about the use of artificial selection of breeding to create a stronger species, to being about the advancement of certain races over others. When talking about neo eugenics, it is believed that it may turn into something similar to that of eugenics in that the use of artificial selection would now be used to bring the upper class higher in standards of health and wellbeing as well as beauty. Others believe that the use of neo eugenics will help create a healthier, more stable species. Whether bad or good, the way that eugenics will advance will be in designer babies.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies: Disease Free or New Child

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    After the discovery of genetically altering an embryo before implantation, “designer babies” was coined to describe a child genetically altered “to ensure specific intellectual and cosmetic characteristics.” (“Designer Babies” n.p.). This procedure combines genetic engineering and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to make sure certain characteristics are absent or present in an embryo (Thadani n.p.). The procedure also includes taking an embryo to be pre-implementation genetically diagnosed (PGD), another procedure that doctors use to screen the embryos (Stock n.p.). An embryo’s DNA goes through multiple tests to obtain an analysis of the embryo, which will list all the components of the embryo including genetic disorders and physical traits such as Down syndrome, blue eyes, and brown hair, for instance (Smith 7). Although the use of PGD is widely accepted by the “reproductive medical community” and the modifying of disorders or diseases is to a degree, once the characteristics are no longer health related “72% disapprove of the procedure” (“Designer Babies” n.p.). At this point the parents make decisions that would alter their child’s life forever and this decision is rather controversial in the U...

    Read More

  • Analyzing Ronald M. Green's 'Building Baby From The Genes Up'

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    SUMMARY: Director of the Ethics Institute, Ronald M. Green, in his article “Building Baby from the Genes Up” discusses why he thinks that genetically modifying babies genes is more beneficial than destructive. He begins his article off by mentioning a story of a couple who wishe to genetically modify their baby so that they could make sure the baby would not develop the long family line of breast cancer. Green then notifies the reader that no matter where they stand on the matter, genetically modifying babies is going to become more and more popular. Even the National Institute of Health is beginning to invest in technology that can be used to genetically modify human genes. He then explains how genetically modifying human genes can be beneficial,

    Read More

  • Designer Babies: Genetic Engineering

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    What do one think of when they hear the words “Designer Babies”? A couple designing their own baby of course, and it’s become just that. Technology has made it possible for there to be a way for doctors to modify a babies characteristics and its health. Genetically altering human embryos is morally wrong, and can cause a disservice to the parents and the child its effecting.

    Read More

  • Brave New World 3

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    Theses new discoveries of genetical engineering and cloning closely parallel the process of giving birth in the Brave New World. In Brave New World, people are born artificially in test tubes. Everyone is condidtioned to be the same: to share the same characteristics, their way of thinking, and their ideas. People who claimed individual thought against the community- such as Bernard in the beginning of the novel- were considered to have a defect from a lab mistake during birth, and were ostracized from the community, until they conditioned themself to think like the rest of the community. Scientific development in both genetical engineering and cloning, have made the idea of anti-individualism closer to a reality. Genetical engineering enables parents to choose characteristics for their child, creating a “poster child'; which ultimately ends in every child becoming a poster child and all looking the same. Although genetical engineering is currently under ethical scepticism, and the cloning of humans is illegal, it is still possible to eventually end all diversity (except possibly between ethnic groups as in Brave New World). Huxley says:

    Read More

  • Genetic Enhancement is Unethical

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    Picture a young couple in a waiting room looking through a catalogue together. This catalogue is a little different from what you might expect. In this catalogue, specific traits for babies are being sold to couples to help them create the "perfect baby." This may seem like a bizarre scenario, but it may not be too far off in the future. Designing babies using genetic enhancement is an issue that is gaining more and more attention in the news. This controversial issue, once thought to be only possible in the realm of science-fiction, is causing people to discuss the moral issues surrounding genetic enhancement and germ line engineering. Though genetic research can prove beneficial to learning how to prevent hereditary diseases, the genetic enhancement of human embryos is unethical when used to create "designer babies" with enhanced appearance, athletic ability, and intelligence.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies: What is Ethical?

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    People should not have access to genetically altering their children because of people’s views on God and their faith, the ethics involving humans, and the possible dangers in tampering with human genes. Although it is many parent’s dream to have the perfect child, or to create a child just the way they want, parents need to realize the reality in genetic engineering. Sometimes a dream should stay a figment of one’s imagination, so reality can go in without the chance of harming an innocent child’s life.

    Read More

  • The Ethical Issues of Genetic Testing

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 addressed: When should genetic testing be used? And who should have access to the results of genetic tests? As I intend to show, genetic tests should only be used for treatable diseases, and individuals should have the freedom to decide who has access to their test results.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography On Embryonic Research

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jill U. Adams, an expert science writer, wrote an article about manipulating the human genome through embryonic stem cells. In the article an important aspect mentioned is the research the Chinese have successfully accomplished. Chinese scientists have developed a method called, CRISPR, which allows to edit the genes using a, “finding/replacing” method, similar to the one in a word processor. CRISPR has brought up many ethical concerns to scientists bringing endeavors for the FDA and NIH to allow embryonic research. Adams insures to address both pros and cons, background information, and the current situation of embryonic stem cell research all essential in aiding to give readers of the research paper background information.

    Read More

  • Genetic Modification In Brave New World

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of these moral dilemmas is that genetic engineering changes the traditional dynamic that occurs between the parent and the offspring. This issue arose over the possibility of having a human embryo with three genetic parents which is now possible due to genetic engineering. The procedure in question “involves transplanting the chromosomes from a single-cell embryo or from an unfertilized egg into a donor egg or embryo from which the chromosomes have been removed”(Foht). The procedure itself is very useful for women with mitochondrial disorders but the issue involved with this is that the embryo would technically have three biological parents. There needs to be a real concern about “the way genetic engineering can alter the relationship between the generations from one of parents accepting the novelty and spontaneous uniqueness of their children to one where parents use biotechnology to choose and control the biological nature of their children”(Foht). There is a special relationship between children and their parents that may be disappearing very soon due to these techniques. Children could be born never truly knowing one of their genetic parents. If these procedures continue to prosper people will have to “accept arrangements that split apart the various biological and social aspects of parenthood, and that deliberately create

    Read More

  • Genetic Engineering Ethical Babies Essay

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is a dream of each and every parent to have their own children grow up to be decent, well discipline, non-violent, health rational and a successful adult. As a parent we all do everything to groom and ensure that our kids become the best, all these can be done but still the future of any human being cannot be predicted.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many debilitating and severe unwanted diseases, genetic disorders and disabilities can be avoided through the creation of designer babies. A child's quality of life would be drastically increased if they evade Down Syndrome, deformities or heart disease for example. In a sense, it isn’t all that different to hearing aid, medication for an illness or chemotherapy for cancer, but on a larger scale and earlier in someone’s life, before it even really begins in fact. Some people would argue that changing genes is changing who people are, which they view as ‘wrong’, but genes aren’t exactly the only things that make up a person anyway. The way that they grow up and their surroundings also make people...

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Genetic Engineering

    1437 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Problem Genetic engineering has been around since the 1960’s, although major experiments have not been really noticed until the 1990’s. Science comes in different forms, the two major being cloning and genetic reconstruction. Cloning is the duplicating of one organism and making an exact copy. For example, in 1996 the creation of the clone sheep named Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned, which was a great achievement. The other form, genetic reconstruction, is used to replace genes within humans to help or enhance the life of an unborn child for a medical reason or just for the preference of a parent.

    Read More

  • Moral and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to the fact that the field of biotechnology is very serious and potentially dangerous, rules must be set down in order to keep the research in check. The high risk research of genetic therapy needs guidelines that have to be followed in order to keep the study just. The articles that are discussed in this essay focus on ethical issues and ideas that should be followed in the field in order to keep research safe and valid.

    Read More

More about Embryo's Genetic Code And Ethics Essay

Open Document