Gattaca Movie Essay

In this scene from the movie Gattaca, Marie and her husband Antonio are wanting to have a second child. The couple underwent in vitro fertilization, and four healthiest embryos were selected as candidates by the doctor. Once Marie and Antonio stated they wanted a boy, doctor gave further information regarding embryo’s genetic predispositions for specific disorders. Having chosen the healthiest embryo, the future child had very slim chances of developing any serious condition. Thus, the scientific technology used in this movie revolves around in vitro fertilization and choosing oocytes that are genetically superb in every possible way. Today, there is technology capable of determining whether the embryo is carrying a gene related to a specific
Then sample’s genetic composition is evaluated and the new information is used to determine which embryos will be optimal for subsequent uterine transfer. More specifically, preimplantation genetic diagnosis and preimplantation genetic screening, referred to as PGD and PGS, are techniques used to identify genetic defects in embryos created through IVF. PGD is used to test for a single gene defect in the embryo for couples that have a single gene mutation, thus ensuring that their offspring won’t carry gene for the disease. Cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, Huntington’s disease, Marfan’s disease, muscular dystrophy, Tay Sachs, spinal muscular atrophy, and sickle cell anemia are just some of the disorders that can be identified using PDG technique. Whereas, PGS refers to screening of an embryo for aneuploidy—an abnormal number of chromosomes. PGS can identify chromosomal abnormalities that result in IVF failure, miscarriage and disorders such as Down’s syndrome (trisomy 21) and Edward’s syndrome (trisomy 18), among many other. Therefore, we do have the technology that can minimize passing of the genes for certain disorders onto