Much knowledge about genetics and diagnostic testing has been gained from research on diseases. There has been a focus to identify what genes are causing specific genetic disorders. This has lead to many debates over the ethics of genetic testing. If a developing embryo is found to have a gene that will cause a specific disorder, what should be done? Should genetic testing be required of the parents to see what disorder they may be at risk of passing on? Should parents with genes that could cause a genetic disorder be required to have a preimplantation genetic diagnosis? This process involves embryos being created in vitro and then only those that are not affected by the genetic illness would be implanted into a woman's uterus. Should they be forced to seek alternative methods of reproducing if there is a one hundred percent guarantee their child will be develop a disorder? Genetic testing can also be used to see if a person is carrying genes that would cause them to develop an illness later in life. This test could tell them they do not have to worry or that they have to prepare to deal with the illness at some point. In the future, this type of knowledge could possibly keep someone from getting health insurance. Will doctors one day want to have their patients genetic information on record? As these technologies continue to develop and are becoming more common in our lives, they clash with many people’s former ideas about science and how far it should go.
Simmons, Danielle. “Genetic inequality: Human genetic engineering.” Nature Education. Nature Publishing Group, 2008. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-inequality-human-genetic-engineering-768>
I believe that this is a very controversial issue. On one hand, there are always couples that want the "perfect child" where they can regulate the genes. This i feel takes away from a persons individuality. Although, for people that have a terminal/ deadly illness, if they were asked they would probably take a second chance not to have what they have anymore.
ReplyDeleteI guess it depends on the chances the baby will actually develop the disease/disorder. I have heard many stories (personal friends and reading material) that had doctors tell them that their child WILL have down syndrome and other disorders (from testing the amniotic fluid/placental tissue) but the baby turned out fine. It is a hard decision to make if you are a parent. I wonder more about how the genes are actually expressed... because just because it is apparent that the baby will have a disease/disorder doesn't mean that the gene will be expressed and may lie dormant. Just like cancer......there are many who have multiple family members with certain types of cancer and are told of their high risk but then never even develop cancer. I would like to hear more research on environment (diet/lifestyle etc.) and how that effects gene expression! Awesome post.....it creates a good debate! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat debate topic! I think that the decision is up to the parents about if you want to have a child, even if there is a risk of obtaining a genetic disorder. However, I am split on the issue if there is a 100 % chance of the baby getting a disorder. For instance, if the child is 100% guaranteed to get a from of dwarfism then its probably okay, however if the child is guaranteed to get Huntingtons disease then Im not sure about if they should be able to. But in the end its the parents decision. Some people also do not want to find out if they have a genetic disorder. For instance, if I had a 50 % chance of getting huntingtons disease then I may not want to find out because then my insurance could go up and thats all I would think about for my entire life until the signs of the disease show up (around 40).
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