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In vitro fertilization
In vitro fertilization
In vitro fertilization
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A). Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis also known as (PGD) is used when IVF is performed to conceive a baby. This testing mechanism is used when a couple has a high risk of having a child with a genetic mutation whether they both carry a recessive gene or one of them carries a dominant gene mutation. Once the egg is removed from a woman’s ovaries and it is fertilized by the sperm outside of her body, a blastocyst is performed. As the book explains PGD consists of a biopsy being performed on blastocysts resulting from in vitro fertilization (Gross, p. 79). After blastocysts are inspected for the gene mutation, those who carry the genetic abnormality or can’t be determined are not implanted back into the uterus. The one’s free from the genetic mutation are the ones implanted in hopes of conceiving a baby. …show more content…
This prenatal diagnosis is interesting to me because I think it is very fascinating to be able to select healthy embryos if you are using IVF as a method to conceive. If I were using this method as an alternative to pregnancy, I would definitely perform this biopsy to increase my chances of having a healthy baby. This type of testing gives you some type of control on your pregnancy and the health of your baby and gives you emotional security as well as peace of mind to know that it will not carry a genetic abnormality. Rather normal pregnancy, you don’t have much participation in the selection of your child’s gene makeup and you run the risk of the child carrying the genetic
Human Genetic Screening and Discrimination in Gattaca. Works Cited Missing A few months ago I watched a movie called Gattaca, which dealt with the issue of genetic discrimination in the near future. In the movie, people were separated into two classes, those that were genetically screened and positively altered before birth and the class that was unaltered. The separate classes had stark divisions, from what jobs that you were able to apply for to where you could eat. Security was aimed at keeping unaltered people away from the enhanced people.
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...
Steffen, K. (2011, Dec. 15). Errors during PGD testing raise wrongful conception concerns. Retrieved on January 23, 2012, from http://www.seolawfirm.com/2011/12/wrongful-conception-concerns-raised-when-errors-occur-during-ivf-and-pgd-testing/
PGD has proven effective in patients who are of advanced age, have had recurrent miscarriages or repeated IVF failure and are either carriers of chromosomal diseases or have genetic history of such. PGD is used with an IVF to identify chromosomal mutations and genetic defects in embryos, where a cell from IVF is removed for genetic testing before implanting it into the uterus. This can either be performed as polar body biopsy,
For just thousands of dollars more, women going through in vitro fertilization can later choose to have a certain gender with perfect vision, a great heart, a natural ability for sports, and being able to avoid diseases (Angelle). Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis was first inaugurated in 1990. “It has become an important complement to the presently available approaches for prevention of genetic disorders and an established clinical option in reproductive medicine” (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis). This has come in handy because it gives you the opportunity to create a baby free of health risks and you are able to freeze your eggs if you miscarry or if something harmful goes wrong with the first egg. Designer babies are created using In Vitro Fertilization. Using this technique, doctors can fertilize the egg with sperm inside the laboratory using a test tube. Doing so you can reduce the chance of the child being born with a genetic disorder and the parents can actually then on choose the sex of the baby. In some cases couples have used PGD to their advantage to save one of their children. Some babies sole purpose is to be created to save the life of their own sibling. Jamie was the first “designer” baby in Britain. “He was genetically matched to his four-year-old brother, Charlie, in the hope to curing a rare type of anaemia which threatens the older boy...
The history of harmful eugenic practices, spurring from the Nazi implementations of discrimination towards biologically inferior people has given eugenics a negative stigma (1,Kitcher, 190). Genetic testing, as Kitcher sees it through a minimalistic perspective, should be restrained to aiding future children with extremely low qualities of life (2,Kitcher, 190). He believes that genetic engineering should only be used to avoid disease and illness serving the role of creating a healthier human race. He promotes laissez-faire eugenics, a “hands off” concept that corresponds to three components of eugenic practice, discrimination, coercion and division of traits. It holds the underlying works of genetic testing, accurate information, open access, and freedom of choice. Laissez-faire eugenics promises to enhance reproductive freedom preventing early child death due to genetic disease (3,Kitcher, 198). However there are dangers in Laissez-faire that Kitcher wants to avoid. The first is the historical tendency of population control, eugenics can go from avoiding suffering, to catering to a set of social values that will cause the practice of genetics to become prejudiced, insensitive and superficial. The second is that prenatal testing will become limited to the upper class, leaving the lower class with fewer options, creating biologically driven social barriers. Furthermore the decay of disability support systems due to prenatal testing can lead to an increased pressure to eliminate those unfit for society (4,Kitcher, 214).
Donor-assisted insemination is a process that enables a woman to conceive a child through the donated sperm/egg of a male or female. Donor insemination is a technique that has been used around the world for fifty eight years. This technique is often used in situations where a man or woman suffer from infertility and are unable to produce children on their own. Donor-insemination is also used to help gay people or single people have children. In these cases, the child grow up to never know their genetic father/mother. The children born from donor- assisted reproduction only have access to basic, non-identifying information such as: race, height, eye-color, etc. This is not enough information to settle the donor-inseminated (DI) children's desire to know about their parents. I personally think the DI children have a natural right to know where they came from. Many DI children say that knowing about their genetic parent is something that they desire more than anything in the world. These children have a right to know about their genetic background, not only for themselves, but for their children as well.
In today’s advanced world, modern technology has enabled humans to accomplish tasks once thought to be purely science fiction. We live in a world today where everything is instant and custom designed. Who would have ever thought that one day parents would be able to design their children? Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a “process [that] involves taking a 3day old embryo and pulling one of its six cells to test for genetic markers of disease.” (Edmonds0. Although this process is meant to help discover harmful diseases or complications like cancer, the idea of parents using this process to give their children what they consider “ideal traits” co0mes into question. Even though parents have a right to do what they think is best for their children, parents should not be allowed to genetically engineer their children because it can create new social and economic distinctions as well as destroy the idea that everyone is created equal no matter their differences.
If two parents get tested and find out that their child could have the disease, they could choose to get an abortion, which would be abusing the benefits of genetic testing. In the Jewish testing article it says “or they may choose to end the pregnancy” (Goldschmidt). In this case, taking the life of an unborn child due to genetic testing is an example of how genetic testing can be morally unsound. Also, if a cure is found for genetic testing, the treatments can be very harsh. In the Patients in Limbo article is says “every month for the first two years of her life” (Marcus). Although a cure was found, this child had to undergo extreme treatment in order to have the chance of being cured for the condition. As just a young child, depending on the type of treatment it is, this can be too extreme for such a young patient and can deteriorate the young ones body. In this situation, although genetic testing led to results, it also led to things that can cause pain and suffering, which is not what genetic testing should be used to
As modern technology continues to thrust forward, people are increasingly wondering which doors to open and which to leave closed. One of these technologies is a process called preimplantation genetic diagnosis or PGD. This technique is used to indentify genetic defects in embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) before pregnancy. One would assume that this is a seemingly positive step towards alleviating inherited illnesses. Others say that this type of genetic revolution is like opening Pandora’s Box. People have been known to go to great lengths to conceive a child. When push comes to shove, people will take advantage of whatever technology is available to produce offspring. However, who should regulate such technology? There has always been a fine line between church and state. PGD needs to be regulated and monitored because of the highly ethical conundrums it produces.
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.
Prenatal genetic testing has become one of the largest and most influencial advances in clinical genetics today. "Of the over 4000 genetic traits which have been distinguished to date, more than 300 are identifiable via prenatal genetic testing" (Morris, 1993). Every year, thousands of couples are subjecting their lives to the results of prenatal tests. For some, the information may be a sigh of relief, for others a tear of terror. The psychological effects following a prenatal test can be devastating, leaving the woman with a decision which will affect the rest of her life.
Prenatal genetic screening in particular is a polarizing topic of discussion, more specifically, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). PGD is one of the two techniques commonly used to genetically screen embryos in vitro; it is usually done at the eight-cell stage of division. PGD is most often performed when there is the risk that one or both parents carry disease-causing mutations. It is extensively used by high-risk individuals trying to conceive babes who will be free of particular mutations. PGD can test for over 50 genetic conditions and even allows for sex selection if there are underlying gender-associated medical conditions. When the results are satisfactory, the selected embryo is implanted into the mother’s uterus. While a controversial technique, preimplantation genetic diagnosis is one example of some of the good genetic testing can do, more benefits will be furthe...
There is also a high-resolution ultrasound scanning that can detect chromosomal and physical abnormalities in the first trimester as opposed to the second trimester. A technology such as this can create many ethical problems. Mcfadyen describes the biggest problem as being informed consent. “They may believe that it will provide information only about gestational age and be unaware of the range of abnormalities that can be detected. Recent research suggests that many women are not told beforehand of the first scan’s potential to detect fetal anomalies.”
(2) Even people that don 't have any disease could be more prepare, and prevent it from developing in the future by being more aware thanks to the genetic test provided. Genetic screening is another valuable technology that could help a parent keep track of their baby 's health by examining their chromosomes. Genetic testing and screening could impact the life all patients in a positive way, therefore the opposing side should be grateful, and take advantage of this opportunities provided. For example, a person goes to genetically test themselves in a clinic, and they come to find out that they could potentially develop heart problems in the future. Now they can be more aware, and prepared. They could in many different ways like changing their diet or exercising more so they could better protect their heart, and decrease the chances of having the heart problems, like they where presented in the genetic test. What if the person didn 't know they had a chance to have problems? and start eating unhealthy foods that could likely speed up their changes of developing a heart disease. My point is that the same thing goes to those parent who want to get a update of their unborn child 's health. Many healthy mother don 't really expect that their pregnancy will bring some implications, but in