Genetic Engineering Argumentative Essay

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Recommended: Genetic Engineering in a brave new world

The first time that I was exposed to genetic engineering was when I was a rising junior in high school, and attended a summer Biomedical Sciences program at the University of Maryland. We learned about many aspects of genetics in the Biomedical research field that immediately piqued my interest. I was further exposed to genetics, the act of gene splicing, and altering genomes in a lab when we first hand inserted a plasmid from an organism into a culture of bacteria, causing the activity and resistance of the bacteria to become completely altered. With just a miniscule segment of DNA inserted into the bacteria, it was able to resist the antibiotics that would usually wipe them out! Unfortunately, the same could potentially happen if scientists …show more content…

The scientists, researchers and geneticists have a big stake in this issue because they are the ones who develop the technology and instill hope within individuals who could benefit from the technology. They are pressured to present technology that they have promised and have to do it efficiently and without making any mistakes because if a mistake is made, the backlash that they could face will terrorize them. The individuals who are depending on these developments are going to be those who display or carry the traits for genetic abnormalities and would like to prevent their offspring and subsequent generations from possessing and suffering with the diseases that they had to. To accomplish this, they could possibly alter their genomes by using gene splicing techniques which then lead to the selection of healthy embryos and finally, a genetic abnormality free baby. However, the parents who choose to use this technology should examine and understand all of the facets of the technology as well as its reliability before opting to use it. The products of such actions would still be real humans and they may have unforeseen consequences psychologically. Research has not yet been conducted on the emotional effect that genetic engineering could have on the offspring, but will probably be conducted soon since the technology is now being implemented for those who need it or choose to use it. Many feminists also display a deep concern for the mothers who choose to use genetic engineering technology because it requires them to undergo the procedure of IVF, which has the chance of many unnecessary complications (Shanks, 273-275). This biotechnology has many groups of stakeholders who have the pressure to deliver what is

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