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Human

Genetic

Engineering

AbstractHuman genetic engineering could be very beneficial to humanity by disallowing childrento be born with genetic diseases. Future generations of humans could be designed to improveupon the species. However, there are many potentially irreversible negative consequences thatcould occur as a result of genetically engineering an unborn child. These negative consequencesdo not involve debates surrounding ethics. The consequences instead revolve around thepotential destruction or alteration of American society and social structure, the economy, theenvironment, the government, and the field of medicine. Each of those areas could beindividually or collectively affected in a negative way, and the damage would be seeminglyirreversible. The current path that human genetic engineering is headed down leads to the resultof genetically engineering children to the specifications of the parents. There are currently nolaws in the United States that prevent the advancement of human genetic engineering. Unlesslaws are set to guide that path to a reasonable destination, humanity could face unseenconsequences. This technology could turn out to be the greatest achievement of humankind, butthe risks associated with it are too much to gamble with the amount of knowledge and wisdomcurrently held by the field’s greatest minds.IntroductionGenetic engineering is by no means a brand new technology, but like all technology, it israpidly expanding. Genetically modified food is already a field that is heavily debated, butgenetically modified humans may soon become the new topic of discussion. Without any lawsbanning the practice of human genetic engineering in the United States, the stage is set for afuture filled with genetically modified children (Baird, 2007; Deneen, 2001; Van Court, 2004;

Human

Genetic

Engineering

Wright, 1999). According to Pray (2008) and Baird (2007), in vitro fertilization has led topreimplantation genetic diagnosis which is paving the way for human genetic engineering andgenetically modified children. The promising benefits of human genetic engineering include theprocess of avoiding genetic disorders and diseases by screening embryos for diseases that areknown to be linked to certain genes. The downfall of this is the number of aborted fetuses thatcould result (Baird, 2007). That is where the future of human genetic engineering steps in. If thetechnology continues to progress, embryos could be developed from the beginning without thosegenetic diseases. Researchers and scientists will continue to make strides in understanding therelationship between certain genes and the traits with which they correspond. In the future,embryos will be able to be developed to exhibit more and more traits specified by the parents of the embryo.This concept of genetically engineered babies seems to be a likely destination for thefield of human genetic engineering, but the potential downfalls of the technology are not beingdiscussed in great enough depth. Deneen (2001) argues that if a system of genetically modifiedbabies arises, there will be consequences down the road that nobody on Earth could predict,whether they be positive or negative. This research paper will explore the plausible negativeeffects that could result from the process of genetically designing unborn children if propermeasures are not taken to regulate the technology. Specifically, society and social structure, theeconomy, the environment, the government, and the field of medicine could all be severelychanged in separate or related instances. This paper takes the stance that the field of humangenetic engineering needs to progress with extreme caution so as to preserve the stability of thehuman race.

Human

Genetic

Engineering

What is human genetic engineering?Human genetic engineering is the process by which a desired gene can be placedinto a human in order for that human to express a certain trait or be protected from developing agenetic disease. This technology can be applied to human embryos by way of germlineengineering. That means the genes that are placed in the embryo will have the ability to bepassed on to future offspring. According to Hayes (2000), germline engineering is only possiblewhen the gene is implanted into a sperm cell, egg, or very early embryo. The other method forhuman genetic engineering iscalled somatic engineering. Bythis process, a gene is added toa cell that is not an egg orsperm cell, so the implantedgene will not be inherited byany offspring (Hayes, 2000).Preimplantation geneticdiagnosis is also a key aspectof human genetic engineering.By the process illustrated inFigure 1, germline geneticengineering would be used toimplant the desired genes intothe embryo, butpreimplantation genetic

Figure 1.

Method for germline engineering

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Category:	Research > Science
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Upload Date:	09/02/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	human genetic engineering human genetic engineering (fewer)