Genetic Engineering Essays

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Design-a-Baby When looking in the mirror everyone critics themselves to find perfection. But where is the point when it goes too far to meet the high standards. Since the twentieth century parents have gone to the extremes to create a genetic engineered child to meet the idealistic perfection of the society. Beauty pageants became part of the American society in the 1920's. Then child beauty pageants began in the 1960's. (Nussbaum). In child pageants they have such high modeling standards at such a young age. The little girls have to model and be judged on their looks, capability, poise, perfection and confidence. The judges call it “the complete package”. In addition to our creating little Barbie dolls for pageants, the technology has enabled parents to genetically create in-vitro children. This technology has allowed gender, eye color, hair, and even the IQ of the child. Even though genetic engineering is becoming more known in society, parents should not be allowed to take the opportunity to design their child. With every day genetic engineering has been advancing in such high speeds in such a quick time. In the past three decades, scientists have learned how to mix and match characteristics among unrelated creatures by moving genes from one creature to another. (“the science”). Genetic Engineering is a test tube science and is prematurely applied in food production. The two most common methods for gene transfer are biological and electromechanical. “Early experiments all involved changing DNA using bacterial vectors”. (Randerson,). Through other advances scientists proclaim how they can improve the human gene pool. But others may disagree on that matter. All humans have genes which carry certain traits structuring a person’s chemical make-up. "Inheritable characteristics are passed from one generation to the next through DNA, a molecule that is present in all of our cells”. (Massey). Naturally a human is created through the traits and genes from their family. With genetic engineering it’s going against the natural way of life. However, as one realizes the deep social and ethical consequences, the concept of “super humans” scares them. The possibility of creating a new breed of humans with “better genes” is not something that the public has prepared for. (Genetic engineering). Hundreds of citizens rallied across the country, hailing for a halt in human cloning research. The darkest aspect of genetic engineering is the possibility that a government or institution might undertake to enhance human beings by means of genetic engineering. Advanced reproductive technologies allow parents and doctors to screen embryos for genetic disorders and select healthy embryos. The fear is that in the future we may be able to use genetic technologies to modify embryos and choose desirable or cosmetic characteristics. Designer babies are a term used by journalists to describe this frightening scenario. It is not a term used by scientists. (“The science”). Advanced reproductive techniques involve using In-Vitro Fertilization to fertilize eggs with sperm in test-tubes outside the mother's body in a laboratory. These techniques allow doctors and parents to reduce the chance that a child will be born with a genetic disorder. At the moment it is only legally possible to carry out two types of advanced reproductive technologies on humans. (Genetic Engineering). The first involves choosing the type of sperm that will fertilize an egg this is used to determine the sex and the genes of the baby. The second technique screens embryos for a genetic disease: only selected embryos are implanted back into the mother's womb. This is called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). (Harrison). Technologies have made parents have the option to go against nature to create a child without using the normal ways of doing it. First, genetic engineering limits children’s self-rule to shape their own destinies. If parents are able to remake a child’s
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