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Genetic manipulation should it be allowed or not
Introduction
Genetic manipulation is the manipulation of one gene via biotechnology. There has been an increase of “designer babies,” and the progress is made possible through—advanced reproductive technology. Many parents have been able to get children through virtualization. Scientist has developed call and chromosome manipulation, which has led to the development of cloning and can control initial steps of a child’s development. Lastly is the understanding of genetics and genomics. Scientists can learn how DNA affects individual development and can alter the DNA to achieve a desirable outcome. There have been proponents who are for and against genetic manipulation. (Kass)
Genetic manipulation and cloning should be allowed. These are because parents can choose the types of genes they want for their children. The protect the children from acquiring deliberate diseases and deformities. Health care cost is expensive to treat children who are sick and mostly those who are deformed as they will require constant therapy and personalized care. These can drain the parents financially as they will use whatever resources they have to provide the best life for their children. These can be avoided with the use of technology as the child will be born healthy with no complication. Therefore, the parents will not strain their finances in taking care of them. If the technology is available, why should we refrain from using it?
Parents who are struggling to have a baby in the usual way result in this procedure. The procedure is very costly, and not many people can afford it. Couples decide to pull all their finances together to raise the money to have the procedure done. Since the process is expensive, it is only justifiable for the parents to have a perfect one. These are because it will save them the cost of having to take the child to a hospital in the future, which will require more finances. The parents also choose the type of genes they want the baby to have. It is only justifiable to give them what they have paid for.in the case of Freeman, he was injured as a baby, and the parents regretted why they did not use reproductive technology for him. The hospital bill was expensive, and the insurance coverage could not meet the expenses. His brother Anton, on the other hand, was born through reproductive technology and was healthy with no fees required. This saves on cost and future expenses.
Genetic manipulation gives people a chance in life. The case of Charlie Whitaker can be used as an argument for genetic manipulation. He was born with diamond blacken anemia. It is a medical condition in which the body cannot create red blood cells. He required blood transfusion every three weeks and medication every night. The disease was cured by a cell transplant from his modified genetic brother umbilical cord, and after three months, the disease was healed, and he had a healthy life and improved his survival chances.
Genetic manipulation allows children to be born healthy free from disease and resistance to them. It makes a child grow healthy and have potential in everything. It means the child will be strong with a high IQ, and they will be able to participate in sports and achieve a lot in their careers. In Gattaca, freeman is born with a short life span since he has medical conditions that are heart condition and anxiety. Freeman was exposed to neurological issues such as depression. His brother, on the other hand, was conceived by the help of technology and had a superior advantage. He was resistant to diseases and had a long lifespan. If genetic manipulation can result in a healthy society with a long lifespan, why should we not use it?
In as much as genetic manipulation poses, some benefits there are against it. These include’
The use of technology is an expensive procedure. It means only the privileges in the society will able to afford the funds to enhance their children. It can result in a community where people are divided. There will be a genetic privilege and those who lack the enhancement. The rich will become a superior race leaving the lower class to suffer from diseases and disabilities. The genetically advanced will have more advantages, such as the ones seen in the film Gattaca. The advanced kids will have an advantage power when applying for technical jobs over the less enhanced who will be assigned menial tasks. These are wrong as we are all created equal in the image of God in the spiritual context. In Gattaca, Anton was always considered superior to Freeman. He had a proper height and was better at swimming and running. (Sandel)
The genetic enhancement will create an unequal society. The genetically advanced will always have an advantage over healthy kids. Equality in opportunities will be meaningless since employers will be looking at individuals with whom they can explore their maximum potential and pose less risk. Freeman’s dream was to work at the prestigious flight corporation, but he was aware of disadvantaged genetics. He used to train and read continually but knows he will be disadvantaged when compared to genetically modified kids. Discrimination is illegal in the organization but was often overlooked. Freeman was dismissed when he applied for a technical position because of his genetic composition. Genetic enhancement, therefore, encourages discrimination and denies people opportunities that they have qualified.
It will make them succeed more, and the other will be left struggling. Genetic modification will limit these individual choices as the parents dictate everything about them. They are not able to make free choices on who they want to be. It can affect the child’s relationship with parents sometimes. Parents should love and accept their kids the way they are; however, this is not the case since the parents have already decided how the child should be. There is a point in the film where freeman calls himself de-gene-rate, meaning he is refusing to consider himself as a weaker being. Why would someone go through this torture of self-acceptance? If we are all equal, one needs not to judge themselves or their capabilities. Hard work and determination will determine their fate (Messer)
It is not a hundred percent proven that the genes the parents chose will ultimately develop in the baby. It increases the parent’s expectation of the type of baby they want. In case the choice they made does not materialize out, it can result in disappointments and the parents may abuse or reject the child. Procedures that do not go well involves terminating the embryo. It is against moral and Christian grounds. The issue of race will arise as whites have been considered as a superior race to blacks. Genetics will try to suppress the black race rather than to accommodate it.
In summary, genetic manipulation will see a society free from evil characters and free from diseases. However, many disadvantages come with it that make it unfavorable. Only the wealthy will afford this expensive procedure, meaning opportunities will only be limited to them, and this will create an unequal society. Less attractive people will be disadvantaged, and there will be depression of the black race as people will try to accommodate it rather than fighting it. We should accept people the way they are with respect to their different formation. It is not justifiable to eliminate diseases and disabilities, as every person deserves a chance in life. Eliminating humans with deformities or undesirable characteristics is not only risky, but it is eliminating a perspective that enriches us.
Work cited
Kass, Leon, James Q. Wilson, and James K. Wilson,. The ethics of human cloning. . American Enterprise Institute, 1998.
Messer, Neil. “”Human cloning and genetic manipulation: some theological and ethical issues:.” .” Studies in Christian ethics 12.2 ( (1999)): 1-16.
Sandel, Michael J. The case against perfection: . What’s wrong with designer children, bionic athletes, and genetic engineering. London:: Routledge,, 2012.