Why Is Genetic Engineering Bad

Genetic Engineering: The Good and The Bad The argument between whether genetic engineering is wrong or right rages on every day, and will continue to be an issue until everybody can come to an agreement on what can and can’t be done. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, writes about how she feels and questions the progression of modern science and how far we can go until it is just morally and ethically wrong. Through the mind of a young scientist, Mary pictures the possibility of what could happen if we venture too far into the unknown and how could it harm everyone. Knowing the line between continuing and finding things that can help society and knowing when to stop is essential to stop something from happening just like in the novel Frankenstein. Not only that, but many people argue over the fact that modifying the human body is wrong and go against the will of many different
religions. The moral and ethical issues that Shelley brings up explains how genetic engineering can cause people around them great harm, but if used properly it may just benefit society as a whole. Even though it may be for good purposes, genetic engineering has the ability to destroy anybody’s life inside and out. Scientists may want to stop a certain disease or illness with genetic engineering, but it may just end up backfiring and opening up more ways for new or unknown deadly diseases to enter into the equation and severely damage one’s body. Not only can it damage a person’s body, but it can affect how they will be treated in life as well. As stated by Ronnie Cummings in “Genetic Engineering Threatens Society”, “He also maintains that widespread genetic screening of human embryos, the objective of which is to abort embryos with genetic diseases and undesirable traits, could lead to discrimination against genetically “inferior” people.” Victor wanted to create a better human so there is no chance of it getting a disease and not to be affected by plague. However, Victor shows us the outcome when something goes wrong and the final outcome isn’t what you wanted, and your creation is extremely ostracized because of his or her looks. The problem of the genetically modified person’s appearance will probably change how other people look at them and how they will be treated. Due to these attributes they will most likely turned away and will be unwanted.
With all the drawbacks there are to genetic engineering, there are also many positive things about it as well.
Even though genetic engineering can have bad affects, there are many false health alarms about it also. It’s even claimed by others that these are just false health alarms, “…so many other public health false alarms, the attack on the new biotechnology – also known as bioengineering, gene splicing, or genetic engineering” (Miller and Conko, 22). This can be related to Frankenstein and how if Victor took more time to examine and study the notes he had gotten more thoroughly, he could have reduced the risks and nullified the worries about genetic engineering. Genetic engineering can be used for good if tested enough to get rid of unwanted symptoms like ADHD and other undesirable symptoms. Parents would love to have a world without ADHD and it could happen if they tried things with genetic engineering, just as Michael Lemonick from Time Magazine says, “What if parents can use pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to avoid having kids with attention-deficit
disorder.” However, the negatives far outweigh the positives because if anything goes with the procedure then everyone will question genetic engineering and will be looking into if it is really morally or ethically right. If anything goes wrong the person’s life will be destroyed, and whoever is the patient of the procedure will be out casted and ostracized. They will likely be scrutinized because of their looks and their inability to understand why the way that they are, and lose sight of who they really are. “I do not intend to hurt you; listen to me, ‘Ugly wretch! You wish to eat me and tear me to pieces’” (Shelley 16), this is one of the lines from Frankenstein and shows how tinkering with genetic engineering can alter a person’s appearance and change their life forever. Even though Victor had good intentions to help mankind in its struggle against all sorts of diseases and plagues, it still ended up turning into a disaster. This shows that no matter how good someone intentions really are there is always the possibility of something going wrong, and changing a single person’s life forever. A child may be made fun of at school, a talented actress didn’t get the acting part, or that hardworking man didn’t get the job, all because of the way they look, and because of genetic engineering they are forced to live that way for the rest of their lives. A lot of people have their own opinions about genetic engineering and far we should go before stopping. Before picking your side, take the time to look at both sides of the story and examine them closely. You have one side that has the ability to change the world, and a better place for everyone to live in. Then you have the other side that causes destruction because of lack of restraint and not knowing when to stop. Mary Shelley expresses her thoughts and makes us question ourselves if we are pushing the limit, and that this could possibly become the outcome. Based on what has happened in the past and what can be done in the future we need to assess what can and can’t be done and try not push the limit as the moral and ethical issues will remain no matter what happens, and try to make everyone happy.