The Ethical Role Of Genetic Engineering In Today's Society

Genetic engineering is the human’s control into an organism’s genetic make-up by alteration of the genetic content such as the DNA of humans, which does not occur in natural conditions. Various techniques are used to prepare recombined parts of DNA from other organisms back to the origin. Genetic engineering is a type of selective breeding. Genetic Modification is very controversial. Individuals have their own personal beliefs regarding this field of research. There are great benefits to genetic engineering, however are drawbacks to this discovery. Ethical and legal issues are dealt with in today’s society in order to try and regulate the growth of genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is a type of selective breeding. Genetic
Genetic engineering works by removing a particular gene from one organism and inserting it into another. With this technology parents can design their children, picking and choosing hair, eye, and skin color, whether the parents possess those traits or not. Parents can also choose their child’s personality, immune system, height, and IQ. Above and beyond these superficial and beneficial outcomes of genetic engineering, one can also choose to extend their child’s lifespan, possibly doubling it.
There are great benefits for genetic engineering, as well as negative outcomes. One of the negatives of altering the structure and genes of human DNA, is the resulting loss of natural variation. With these new advances, parents are able to ‘weed out’ what they deem to be ‘ugly’ traits, making their child closer to society’s standard of beauty. If we start modifying our children, they then become more of an artifact than a member of a family that should be
While some naysayers tend to focus on the negatives only of genetic engineering, while the proponents of this process will tell you that one of the main positives of this is the possible elimination of genetic diseases. When scientists open the genome to modifications, they would be able to completely take out the genes that cause many different diseases such as Alzheimer's, Huntington’s Disease, and Down Syndrome. While this may seem like someone playing God, the eradication of these diseases, syndromes, and conditions can drastically prolong one’s life. Not only prolonging your life, but also giving one better quality of life. Even though the genetic engineering process is experimental at best, once perfected, scientist will be able to identify over 400 hereditary disease markers within one’s DNA and change them. Laboratory experience shows that insertion of foreign DNA into unfavorable sites can lead to discomposure of development. For example, the disruption of a gene by foreign DNA in a mouse caused abnormal circling behavior and lack of eye development. There was also lack of development in the semicircular canals of the inner ear, as well as the tissue the sense of