Frankenstein: "Playing God" - Advancements in Biomedical Techology

The fact that there have been many advancements in biomedical technology over the years have given us the ability to cure and prevent diseases that have once devastated the human population. These breakthroughs have allowed people to live longer and healthier lives, yet others believe that it runs the risk of “playing God” and that such matters should be left into the hands of a higher power. Today, this ethical debate still continues to raise questions on whether these scientific breakthroughs are morally acceptable. While I support the use of scientific breakthroughs, I believe that it should only be used for human benefit to cure those who are suffering from cancer. This approach seems more reasonable than using this technology to choose one’s eye color or keep someone on life support just because it is something that can be done, whether or not that is acceptable or not.

To start with, scientific breakthroughs are necessary to improve human health and longevity. With the advancements in biotechnology there comes the opportunity to cure diseases that once devastated the population which allows for a healthier generation of people. For example, many vaccinations for diseases such as H1N1 have been popular in order to avoid being caught with the virus. Vaccinations have been used for years because of their ability to prevent diseases from spreading where they normally would have infected hundreds to thousands of people otherwise. This leads not only to a healthier majority of people but also healthier children/future generations thanks to the vaccinations. Additionally, such scientific breakthroughs help improve the lives of children who are born prematurely, such as myself. Without the advanced technology that was available a...

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... is simply only a living cell, much like a blood cell or cancer cell. Going by this logic, acquiring stem cells from a human embryo is not an act of murder any more than you are preventing a cancer cell from developing.

As a final point, with the advances of using biomedical technology, scientists have the ability to cure cancer and prolong human life where they would’ve died if such advancements have not been made. The use of such technology should be used when the benefit outweighs the cost such as using it to benefit humanity and not just to choose if one’s child has blue eyes or brown eyes. I personally support the scientific breakthroughs that have been made over the recent years, yet, these advancements should only be used to cure/prevent diseases rather than to decide on one’s genes or to keep an elderly person on life support simply because it’s possible.