Preview

Persuasive Essay Against Genetic Testing

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
343 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Persuasive Essay Against Genetic Testing
Genetic testing The definition of right and wrong in today’s society is extremely vague. With the advancements in the medical field, it is becoming more common for people to seek genetic testing. People seek the testing for many different reasons. Women seek the testing while pregnant to make sure their unborn fetus is developing properly. Some have the testing if there is a family line of cancer. The FBI forensic team does it to figure out criminals. Others do the testing to see if they carry a gene mutation that could lead to adult onset genetic disorders. Then there are the people that have the testing done for nonmedical purposes, such as, knowing their unborn child’s hair or eye color. For disorders that are preventable or treatable, most would agree that genetic testing makes sense. Genetic testing has become a life saver for many, it has been known to help people know what to expect when it come to their body, just as well determine if a person will get justice for their loved one who was …show more content…
So the question remains what exactly is genetic testing? and how does it work? Well according to the National Human Genome Research Institute, “Genetic testing uses laboratory methods to look at your genes, which are the DNA instructions you inherit from your mother and your father” (FAQ). So, genes are basically the building blocks that make a person. Genes are the details that a person get from their parents. Genes are found in chromosomes and they control growth and help you stay healthy. Sometimes, when genes are abnormal or damaged, they may not work properly, which may lead to disease. “Some genetic abnormalities, or “gene mutations,” may run in families. Some just happen by chance. Sometimes one mutation can cause a person to have a disease, but most diseases are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors” (Genetic Testing Should). In this paper I will be talking about the cancer, prenatal testing, and the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Human Genome project, a revolutionary study that spanned over 13 years, hoped to discover more about the DNA of humans. The study's main goal was to provide new information to help with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of genetic disorders. From the substantial amount of information and knowledge acquired from the project, new ways to test for genetic disorders, and the probabilities of inheriting disorders was gained. Gene testing, which involved taking a sample of a persons DNA, helped screen for a number of different disorders and problems. Before genetic testing, couples at risk of conceiving a child with a particular genetic disorder would have to initiate the pregnancy and then undergo the testing, faced with the dilemma of terminating the birth if the results weren't good. But because of the new technology available, with the combined effort of IVF, sperm and egg cells can be removed from both individuals, and the eggs would then be fertilized within a laboratory. The embryo's would then be tested for genetic mutations,…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Brave New World author Aldous Huxley was not very far off with his interpretation of our future society with hypotheses like overmedication and genetically engineered humans. I would like to focus on the latter and the benefits of the ability to alter not only people, but also foods like vegetables and fish. In Brave New World, genetic engineering is the heart and soul of the massive government that overlooks the entirety of the country, the World State. Workers alter the chemical make-up of each individual to ensure the most productivity and stability as possible. The World State created four main classes: Epsilons, Gammas, Betas, and Alphas (in order from lowest to highest class). With the technology to alter DNA and genes, the World State has total authority, which is desired because people must look to an authoritative head for leadership. Genetic engineering allows restricted individuality; this way, no one is more special or necessary than anyone else. It…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Some of the pros include providing a sense of relief to parents who are concerned and uncertain of the possibility of their child having a disorder (if the test is negative), if it is bad news, at least the parents can be prepared mentally as to what they can be faced with. Early detection is key, if detected early, a plan can be set in place as to the future doctor's appointments, accommodations for the child, and possible surgeries if needed to plan ahead. Also, if diagnosed early, appropriate treatment can be given to the fetus before and after birth if necessary (Lea, Williams & Donahue, 2005, pp. 234-240). Genetic conditions often run in the family, defective genes may be carried from generation to generation whether physically present or not. Information gathered from testing can also help members of the family to be on high alert when planning for children of their own (Kuehn, 2008, pp. 1637-1639). The "Prenatal Genome Testing Sparks Debate" article describes another pro although difficulty to consider, as the parents having the choice to terminate the pregnancy if they feel that the responsibility of their baby's condition is too much (2008). On the other hand, some of the cons include creating anxiety for the parents because of the testing and the results to come. But as mentioned above, one of the problems with genetic and prenatal testing is that it gives false results. The person has to know going into the test that there is a possibility that a negative test can turn out to be positive and that a positive test can turn out to be negative (Schmitz, 2013, pp. 357-364). Another con is the view on terminating the pregnancy if indeed the child has an abnormality. Especially religious groups feel that regardless of chromosomal abnormalities, terminating is not right. This can also cause trouble between the mother and father as well (Schmitz, 2013, pp. 357-364). As mentioned above, the cost of…

    • 1673 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Just a simple test can cause such a massive effect on someone’s daily life. Many victims to genetic testing are affected by these examinations in such a negative way that many of these people develop the inability to exercise a happy lifestyle with their family, peers, or society…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From a patient’s perspective, people tend to see genetic information as more definitive, in the sense that 'you cannot change your genes' and that 'genes tell all about your future.’ Such genetic determinism is an oversimplification and does not take into account the nature of biologic pathways. From a provider’s perspective, genomics presents challenges with respect to ethical and professional responsibilities, including the appropriate use of genomic information in the health care setting. I believe that there should be an identification of provider education programs that increase use of appropriate screening, counseling and evidence-based genetic tests. By increasing the effectiveness of genomic testing, it will help dissolve the negative association and further increase the proportion of people who are willing to receive genetic…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genetic testing, aka DNA testing, allows doctors to check if there are any possibilities to inherit diseases, and can also be used to determine a person's ancestry or biological relationship between people. It is important to understand the background and implications behind genetic testing as testing may be able to identify the odds of have of having a child with a genetic disease, but it can also result in miscarriage. The test often cannot determine if the child will show symptoms of a disease, how severe the symptoms will be, or whether the disease will progress over time. Another thing to take into consideration is the absence of treatment strategies…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The year 2100 will see eugenics universally established. In past ages, the law governing the survival of the fittest roughly weeded out the less desirable strains. Then man's new sense of pity began to interfere with the ruthless workings of nature. As a result, we continue to keep alive and to breed the unfit. The only method compatible with our notions of civilization and the race is to prevent the breeding of the unfit by sterilization and the deliberate guidance of the mating instinct, Several European countries and a number of states of the American Union sterilize the criminal and the insane. This is not sufficient. The trend of opinion among eugenists is that we must make marriage more difficult. Certainly no one who is not a desirable parent should be permitted to produce progeny. A century from now it will no more occur to a normal person to mate with a person eugenically unfit than to marry a habitual criminal.”…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If you had the chance to bring a loved one back into this world to stop your pain, would you? Cloning, the process of taking a cell from one organism, taking a donor womb cell from another organism of the same species (which will not affect the clone’s genetic identity), inserting the original cell in the donor cell, and placing the newly developed embryo inside a surrogate mother. There are those who think that cloning is a wonderful idea and that it is acceptable to make life, from and identical to that which already exists. One reason people protest the idea of cloning is because many are mystified as to how it could be used and what its purposes can be. I know that if it were your child, you would use every possible measure to keep them alive. The fact that we, as humans, might be able to figure out how to clone so that lives could be saved is extremely exciting and inspiring. “With so much enhancement in medical science, cloning is slowly but surely looking like it could be in our near future. However, is it really an option…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The purpose of this piece formal writing is to inform the scientists that are coming very close to making this happen, about how de-extinction can be good and bad for the future world. This piece of writing should be sent to scientists that are going to do this and it should also be put on science websites that have other pieces of writing like this.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What if when your mother saw you for the first time, she did not resemble you at all. If everyone in your family had one certain phenotype, and you came out with another. At the end of the day that's fine as long as it was done naturally. Is there an unnatural way of doing this? Indeed, this is a term we like to call designer babies. Usually during this process selected genes are added into an embryo of an unborn child outside the stomach of the mother. This is not yet legal, but the technology for it is upon us, but why would any parent want to do this? They might not fear the risks but they may have insecurities, and might know that their child will be born with an illness.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As research continues to uncover new disease-causing mutations, the prospect of stopping the transmission of heritable diseases increases. With the use of modern technology, expecting parents can now be prescreened in order to determine their carrier status for certain diseases. Parents who choose to use in vitro fertilization are able to choose embryos that are free of disease due to preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Additionally, parents can be provided with information on their unborn child with the use of prenatal genetic testing. Some individuals view modern genetic technology as eugenic; however, this biggest difference between eugenics now and eugenics during the 1900s is consent. Today individuals pursue genetic testing by choice and policies on ethics and consent prevent reoccurrences of the immoral endeavors within the field of…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The public’s attitude towards science is something that is least talked about in our society. Even in schools, teaching students about how scientists communicate with the public is given the least importance. As a result, I think most people who are involved in science disciplines are not sure how to respond when they come across this question.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine a world where we can have two of everything. Think about the possibilities. Imagine having two Ankits. Actually, I kinda want to take that back now. One Ankit is already too much. I might as well walk myself off the stage, but before that happens, I need to tell you a bit about genetic engineering and cloning. So what is genetic engineering and cloning? Well genetic engineering is the deliberate modification of the characteristic of an organism by manipulating its genetic material. While cloning is using this genetic material to produce an exact replica of the original organism. Both these processes have…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Arguments Against Eugenics

    • 1208 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Even though eugenics can improve someone’s life, the government should not be allowed to decide if future children have good or bad genes because we are not completely sure what is necessary and what is not and you are altering something that was naturally…

    • 1208 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Are we Playing God?”, do we have the right to manipulate people’s genes? These are some of the ethical questions raised by Christians. They believe that humans exist in God’s world and have no right to change it (“Moral”). People also argue that the human genome was given to you from birth and that it was generated by God. If we begin changing genes then it brings us back to ‘“playing God’”. Although these are popular questions that are asked about gene therapy, the most popular one and simple one is the safety of gene therapy. Although gene therapy has vastly improved there is still a possibility for error. The most fearful part is that the therapy works with your genes and chromosomes and people are afraid that instead of treating the genes, the doctors could…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays