Human Genetic Engineering
In this essay I will be discussing the controversial topic of human genetic engineering and its pros and cons from a biological and social point of view while also trying to answer the question “Should human genetic engineering be legal.”
Genes control health and disease, as well as human traits and behaviour. Researchers are just beginning to use genetic technology to unravel the secrets to these phenotypes (observable trait caused by a gene). They are also discovering a range of other potential applications for this technology. For instance, ongoing advances make it more and more likely that scientists will soon be able to genetically engineer humans to have certain desired traits (this is already done on mice). Of course, the possibility of human genetic engineering raises a number of ethical and legal questions, although such questions almost never have a clear and straight forward answer. The research of bioethicists, sociologists, anthropologists, and other social scientists can tell us about how different citizens, cultures, and religions view the moral boundaries for the uses of human genetic engineering.
If human genetic modification is fully legalized it will be done on the early, early stages of reproduction: from when it is just a sperm and an egg to the foetus stage, maybe a slight amount later. At this point of time it is only legal to perform two types of “advance reproductive technologies” on humans. The first is fertilizing the egg with sperm in a test tube. This is used to determine the sex and what genes the baby will have, therefore knowing if using a different sperm/egg will be a better choice since one of the genes in the first tested set might be a genetic disease or the parents might prefer a different sex. The second technique is much like the first. Embryos for a genetic disease; only selected embryos are implanted back into the mother's womb. This is called “Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis.” Now I will discuss what good can come
Genes control health and disease, as well as human traits and behaviour. Researchers are just beginning to use genetic technology to unravel the secrets to these phenotypes (observable trait caused by a gene). They are also discovering a range of other potential applications for this technology. For instance, ongoing advances make it more and more likely that scientists will soon be able to genetically engineer humans to have certain desired traits (this is already done on mice). Of course, the possibility of human genetic engineering raises a number of ethical and legal questions, although such questions almost never have a clear and straight forward answer. The research of bioethicists, sociologists, anthropologists, and other social scientists can tell us about how different citizens, cultures, and religions view the moral boundaries for the uses of human genetic engineering.
If human genetic modification is fully legalized it will be done on the early, early stages of reproduction: from when it is just a sperm and an egg to the foetus stage, maybe a slight amount later. At this point of time it is only legal to perform two types of “advance reproductive technologies” on humans. The first is fertilizing the egg with sperm in a test tube. This is used to determine the sex and what genes the baby will have, therefore knowing if using a different sperm/egg will be a better choice since one of the genes in the first tested set might be a genetic disease or the parents might prefer a different sex. The second technique is much like the first. Embryos for a genetic disease; only selected embryos are implanted back into the mother's womb. This is called “Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis.” Now I will discuss what good can come