Genetic Manipulaion Yes Or No Essay
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Genetic Manipulation: Yes or No?
Genes, being part of the basic building blocks of man, control all aspects of one s life. They control how tall you are, what color your eyes are, and what diseases might afflict you in the
future. Therefore, the manipulation of such genes can be a controversial topic. The controversy most likely stems from the ethical and social questions that are raised by this procedure. Jean
Dausset, author of Scientific Knowledge and Human Dignity, and George B. Kutukdjian, author of UNESCO and Bioethics, both discuss the topic of genetic manipulation. Their main focus concerns the applications of genetic manipulation, the limitations and equal opportunities of genetic manipulation, and how a person s confidential information would be regulated. To understand this basics of genetic manipulation, one must first have a little background knowledge.
Genetics is the branch of biology that deals with heredity, especially the mechanisms of the hereditary transmission and variation of inherited characteristics. Genes are the hereditary
units of chromosomes that are located inside the DNA, which determine certain characteristics of an organism (Encarta). The scientific alteration of the structure of genetic material in a living organism is called genetic engineering. Gene therapy is the insertion of a gene or genes into cells in order to provide a new set of instructions to those cells (Encarta). Gene therapy is actually a form of gene manipulation in itself because one is trying to control, or manipulate, the structure of a gene. Gene therapy is used to correct a person s genetic predisposition. Genetic predisposition is the identification of what diseases a person might be afflicted with in the future and how or from what a person will die (Dausset 451). The application of genetic manipulation can be seen in two areas: genetic testing and predictive medicine.
Genetic testing can be separated into two categories. The first should be to look for characteristics of genetic diseases which are hereditary. The second is used to show a person s predisposition to certain diseases (Kutukdjian 453). It is in genetic testing that the concept of gene therapy can play a role. The somatic type of gene therapy is considered to be an ethical one. Its main concern is focused toward the cells of the body (Dausset 450). On the other hand, the germ-line type is concerned with the reproductive cells or the embryos themselves,
thus being considered unethical (Dausset 450). Dausset says, The germ-line therapy must be strictly banned (450). The second area of genetic testing is predictive medicine. Predictive medicine is, essentially, preventive medicine (Kutukdjian 453). The main purpose for predictive medicine is start treatment for a disease that the patient does not have, but that he/she will possibly get in the future. That way the person will not get that disease, thus the doctors prevented it.
Although it does present some ethical questions, I believe that genetic testing, for the most part, is a good thing. It can do a great many good things for people, if it is used properly. Gene therapy is considered by many medical researchers to be the ultimate solution to gene-based diseases (Jaroff 24-6). Dr. W. French Anderson, the director of the gene-therapy program at the University of Southern California/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los
Angeles, says, virtually every disease will have gene therapy as one of its treatments Along with two colleagues, Anderson performed the first federally approved gene therapy (Jaroff 24-6). Predictive medicine is also a good thing. Medicine is basically going to change from a treatment-based to a prevention-based discipline (Jaroff 24-6). The ethical questions of whether or not genetic testing is good or not can be difficult to answer. I believe that it is a good thing to an extent. It should be used to help treat or cure people with certain diseases, but it should not be used to change the entire genetic make-up of an unborn child.
What will the limits be on genetic manipulation? Many people believe that is where the majority of the controversy lies. The obvious choice would be for the government to place limits on this medical...
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