Genetic Therapy and its Place in Today’s Society

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Recommended: the ethics of gene therapy

In this paper, I will argue that genetic therapies should be allowed for diseases and disabilities that cause individuals pain, shorter life spans, and noticeable disadvantages in life. I believe this because everyone deserves to have the most even starting place in life as possible. That is no being should be limited in their life due to diseases and disabilities that can be cured with genetic therapies. I will be basing my argument off the article by “Gene Therapies and the Pursuit of a Better Human” by Sara Goering. One objection to genetic therapies is that removing disabilities and diseases might cause humans to lose sympathy towards others and their fragility (332). However, I do not believe this because there are many other events and conditions in society that spark human compassion and sympathy towards others. First, I must define what types of diseases and disabilities fall under the category of things I believe we should be able to treat with genetic therapies and why. As Goering states, “if a child needs surgery or a painful treatment to survive or to thrive, we allow ourselves room to do what is ‘best for the child’ even if that may involve unavoidable pain that the child is not able to consent to.” If we were to except this as true, then a logical conclusion would be to fix the problem through genetic therapy before a child has to go through any pain. We should save them from these gruesome experiences. Some examples that Goering lists are Tay-Sachs disease, Lesch-Nyan syndrome, and cystic fibrosis (332). There are many other instances of disabilities or diseases that can cause disadvantages in life. Goering lists deafness and color-blindness, but I think that paralysis should also be included in thi... ... middle of paper ... ...sion and sympathy. Genetic therapy will not cause the human race to feel less sympathetic towards others who are in a frail state. I believe that Goering would agree with me. She focuses more on the fact that people will want to remove all pain, i.e. adolescence. She never touches on the fact that there are many other types of suffering that happen every day. There is no way we could ever prevent every event that causes any sort of pain. Basic day-to-day activities, such as walking and eating, can cause pain such as stubbing your toe or burning your tongue. We will always have daily pain and suffering, but genetic therapy can get rid of long-term pain and suffering caused by diseases and disabilities. For these reasons, Goering would agree with me that humanity would not loose their sympathy and compassion towards others who are more frail then they are.

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