'Modern genetics can now prevent many inherited biological disorders. Embryo's can be screened for some genetic disorders and can be manipulated to produce particular desirable characteristics in children. Evaluate the arguments for and against genetic en
‘Modern genetics can now prevent many inherited biological disorders. Embryo’s can be screened for some genetic disorders and can be manipulated to produce particular desirable characteristics in children. Evaluate the arguments for and against genetic engineering in humans’.
The concept of genetic engineering can be traced back to at least 8000 BC in the Middle East, Orient and the Americas (Roger Straughan, 1996). However, more recently in history this concept was used by the Nazi’s in an attempt to create a ‘super race’ through their ‘eugenics’ programme. We are now able to alter germline genes in somatic cells to treat disease, as well as being able to screen for inherited diseases in unborn foetuses. Many would argue that this could revive ‘eugenics’ in the wrong hands; and therefore is ethically dubious (eNotes.com, 2008). Alternatively, stem cell research over the past thirty years has enabled the birth of the first IVF baby. The question has been posed of whether we are creating a ‘Frankenstein’ (Bob Calverley, USC Health Magazine, 2001).
Scientists are currently working on a genetic test to detect prostate cancer, from which about 10,000 men die a year in Britain. Researchers studied a group of 2000 cancer patients, and found that there are seven previously unknown genetic markers linked to the disease (Ian Sample, The Guardian, 2008). Similarly, now through amniocentesis and Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) we are able to screen for a number of genetically inherited diseases such as Downs Syndrome and Tay - Sachs disease (, June 2007). These are good examples of what research into genetics has achieved in the past thirty years. Parents can now decide whether they would like to bring a child into the world if it will in be disadvantaged by these diseases, or prepare for the birth of child. There are fears over incorporation of ‘social Darwinism’ or a revival of ‘eugenics’, a term infamously coined by Charles Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton. ‘Eugenics’ was used in Europe and U.S.A during the early part of 1900’s to justify sterilising thousands of mentally ill patients as it was thought these people could not produce mentally healthy offspring (2000 The Chicago Tribune, cited on commondreams.org). These concepts reflect the current reservations over genetic screening, people are afraid of living in a world where you are judged before you are even born. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (written by Margaret Atwood) depicts a dystopia in which women who are deemed unsuitable for procreation are sent to the ‘colonies’. Nonetheless, discoveries such as genetic tests for prostate cancer or diabetes are a great relief for many people. It would be a huge advantage to know what you are genetically susceptible to and then be prepared to deal with the disease if you have it. However, the debate then slides to who should know what your genetic predispositions are, as they are only predispositions. Imagine if prospective employers or insurance companies knew that perhaps you had a susceptibility to heart disease. Are we prepared to give up our privacy, and in a sense freedom in order to further our own quest for predicting the future? The 1997 film, ‘Gattaca’, portrays a time in which we are all judged by our genetic susceptibilities and essentially have our destinies written out for us before we have even begun to live. These fears are furthered by the fact that genes can now be altered in somatic cells, which could allow people to produce specific characteristics in children before they are born. Qualities such as height, eye colour, or intelligence could be manipulated before birth. If treatments like this were available, they would most probably be expensive which raises again the issue of creating an elite race of people (eNotes.com 2008).
