Genetic Engineering in Humans

Author Chuck Klosterman said, “The simple truth is that we’re all already cyborgs more or less. Our mouths are filled with silver. Our nearsighted pupils are repaired with surgical lasers. We jam diabetics full of delicious insulin. Almost 40 percent of Americans now have prosthetic limbs. We see to have no qualms about making post-birth improvements to our feeble selves. Why are we so uncomfortable with pre-birth improvement?” Despite Klosterman’s accurate observation, there are reasons people are wearisome toward pre-birth enhancement. Iniquitous practices such as genetic engineering could lead to a degraded feeling in a child and conceivably end in a dystopian society, almost like the society Adolf Hitler had in mind. In the minds of some scientists genetic engineering for pre-birth enhancement is a potential for disaster. Disputes surrounding the definition of humanity, a threat to freedom of action, and eugenics question the moral ethics of genetic engineering, yet there is still belief that pre-birth enhancement will benefit society.

Humanity is expressed by distinct attributes that characterize humans. Being able to think, imagine, reason, laugh, and play, and to feel concern are only a few of these characteristics. It means to be diverse and unlike anyone else. Practicing genetic engineering would destroy this. Challenging the concept of what it is to be human should not be allowed. If by introducing genetic engineering and “designer babies” diversity is lost, humanity, too, is lost. No one will be individual and unique if anyone can choose to have the same traits. Humanity will be lost to unethical and immoral practices such as genetic engineering.

Threatening freedom of action of humans could be caused by genetic eng...

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... a reminder of why it is dangerous to give humans power over selecting traits by essentially saying that anyone who doesn’t fit into a preconceived model should be is expendable.

To quote Mark S. Frankel, “A preoccupation with genetic enhancement may place too much emphasis on genes and ultimately prevent us from solving problems that are really embedded in the structure of our society.” Frankel is simply saying that problems that are believed to come from ‘bad’ genes are really caused by the mistakes humans make. Trying to fix these problems by modifying human genes will only make the problems worse. Unethical practices should be considered and observed before anything is actually done. Genetic engineering is questioned through arguments about humanity, freedom of action, and eugenics and someday will hopefully halt all considerations for pre-birth modification.