Genetics Blog

Scientific discoveries in terms of genetics has led to the possibility of altering humans in ways that have a high potential of eliminating negative qualities that can be found in our genetic make up. It can not only help humans that are already living with difficult diseases and illness, but could also be used to alter the genes of individuals before they are born in order to eliminate the issues before they can even start. However, with this "scientific power" also comes the prominent possibility that it will be abused. In fact, it can be viewed that almost every, if not all, scientific discoveries that can help human beings also come with the likelihood of abuse. With that in mind, should we not use these discoveries that can help us just because we are afraid that we will not be able to determine where to draw the line in terms of how we eventually use them? Or, should we allow them and try to determine what constitutes "taking it too far" as those situations arise, instead of fearing speculation of the potential issues beforehand? That's not to say that we should blindly allow these things without first forecasting potential issues, but instead allowing the fear of foreseen issues to stop us from allowing them in the first place.
The Brazil article does a very good job, in my opinion, of underlying the helpful possibilities that Trangenesis offers humanity. Especially when it is discussed that genetic alteration/combination is already used in pharmaceuticals, and also that genetic altering already happens naturally overtime. If our scientific understanding of genetics and genetic alteration has evolved enough that it can be used to eliminate genetic diseases passed down by the parents, or any other genetic weaknesses of the sort that will inherently provide someone with health disadvantages from the start, before their child is even born, why shouldn't it be allowed to happen?
The Buddhism and Christian articles, however, both bring good points to the table that should be thought about. While Buddhism neither opposes nor supports genetic alteration, they make a point that there should be a strong consideration of cause and effect in the decision process. Parents that are deciding whether or not they should have unborn child genetically altered should think about what factor is truly driving the decision. Parents should never want their children to suffer from any disadvantage they may genetically inherit, but there is a clear difference between suffering from a genetic health disadvantage, and suffering from a genetic physical disadvantage like height and others of the sort.
The Christian article brings up a very different issue for consideration. The idea of "designer babies" and testing multiple embryos in order to either find the best one or the one that can be used to treat an existing child, is where it is thought that the potential for abuse is very high. Bringing a child into the world for the purpose of being constantly used to help someone else is very dangerous in my mind. Even though the intentions are good, that child would have no say in how their body is being used. Also, that child is very likely to have emotional issues knowing that they were only brought into the world because circumstance dictated it. On the other issue, choosing from multiple embryos to find the one that is genetically superior, and even altering it further to enhance its physical appearance, allows for a highly superficial society to take over. Changing someones physical qualities like height, hair color, and eye color, can take away from makes a person unique and can also take away from how that person identifies with their family.
In short, genetic alteration can be a very good thing and very helpful in eliminating harmful diseases/disabilities and should definitely be allowed to take place, but there is a line that should be strongly considered where abusing it can be very harmful.