The negative portrayal of genetic advancements.

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The Negative Portrayal of Genetic Advancements

Every day scientists get one step closer to unraveling our genetic sequence. While this

sounds beneficial, technology undoubtedly has a dark side as well. There is no denying the fact

that science has extended and improved the lives of many, but it has also depersonalized them.

People are often classified according to their disorders rather than their personalities or names.

Furthermore, ethics and questions of morality must be addressed in order to handle some of the

sticky issues that are created as a result of such advancements.

Until recently, the topic of genetics has been practically non-existent. However, now

procedures such as prenatal genetic screening have gone from occasional to routine (nine out of

ten women usually have it).i Furthermore, this procedure that is “already designated as a “ritual”

of pregnancy, at least for white, middle-class women in North America, is the most widespread

application of genetic technology to humans today.”ii Fields such as bio-ethics have been

spawned from such practices, and medical journals and textbooks have been published to educate.

But the information is by no means geared towards the common person. Instead, these resources

have a very limited audience of those educated in the field in question. Therefore, the general

public is unable to learn or keep up with the latest information. Instead, the media alone

influences the majority of people. Recent media has put a negative spin on such prenatal genetic

screening. With talk of “designer babies,” people’s opinions are being drastically altered. The

pros of such research are being overshadowed by the numerous cons that are presented more

sternly. Many novels recently put into print are about some genetic experiment that goes

drastically wrong. Through realistic, yet biased representation, the media informs people of every

possible negative aspect, yet fails to mention the positive or even neutral stances that are

prevalent in most books.

In order to relate the complete unbiased story, the numerous positives of prenatal genetic

screening must be mentioned as well. At the most basic level, the test results provide reassurance

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for the parents. Many couples are not emotionally or financially prepared or willing to raise

children with disorders. Knowing their developing child will be stricken with a certain disability,

the parents have the option to spare the child from a life in an adoption home or a hospital. Also,

women who give birth to babies with disorders or deformities often feel responsible for their

child’s condition, causing severe emotional distress.

Not only does such testing comfort the mother, more importantly it can diagnose a fetus’s

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disorders through a single blood test. The procedure is relatively simple. Most often this involves

a sample of the mother’s blood and serum-alpha-fetoprotein testing to detect proteins that may

insinuate certain conditions such as spina-bifida (a condition when there is a lesion on the

incompletely closed spinal cord), neural-tube defects or Down syndrome. Biochemical errors

such as insufficient levels of hex-A enzyme that brings on Tay-Sachs disease, a fatal metabolic

disorder, can also be detected. For women over thirty-five, doctors suggest a more elaborate

procedure in which fetal cells are collected from the womb’s amniotic fluid (amniocentesis) or

placenta (chorionic ...

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