Genetic testing has the potential to figure out the probability that a person will be affected by a certain disease.
There
are many ethical questions and comments about genetic testing of embryos. The
main concern is the limitation of the genetic testing. According to the
article, “Ethics Questions Arise as Genetic Testing of Embryos Increases” there
are no rules that limit the use of genetic testing in the United States. As a
result of that some people are using it to choose the sex of their child. I
consider this use of genetic testing to be unethical. I think every child deserves
the right to live in this beautiful world and aborting a pregnancy after
knowing the sex of a fetus is totally immoral. If people start to use the
method of genetics testing to pick the sex of their child then eventually we
will experience a dramatic change among the population. However, the method can
be used in much effected and positive manner. In the article, a couple used
genetic testing to avoid a deadly disease known as Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker,
or GSS. Based on the article, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology
have ethically justified this method to prevent serious adult diseases for
which there exists no secure and active interventions. I totally agree with
this concept. If the method is being used to prevent the spread of a deadly disease
then I view it as ethical. This use of the method will benefit the population, decrease
the existence of harmful disease and will help prepare to take necessary
precaution at the early stage of life.
I agree that embryo genetic testing can be an ethically convoluted topic. It is difficult to know where to draw the line and most people have strong opinion about where the line should be. It is a beneficial technology to identify deadly diseases and I think that aspect of the technology should be further explored. However, I do not think sex or other superficial physical characteristics should be tested. What is your opinion about gene editing? I just watched a TED talk with Jennifer Doudna discussing CRISPR-Cas9. You can check it out at http://www.ted.com/talk/jennifer_doudna_we_can_now_edit_our_dna_but_let_s_do_it_wisely
ReplyDelete