Is Genetic Engineering Ethically Responsible? Maura Metcalf-Kelly, Student, William Jewell College
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enetic engineering is a burgeoning field within medical science, with the potential to revolutionize the way that we think about everything from I.Q. to immortality. Gene therapy and genetic enhancement are no longer confined to the realm of speculative fiction. As scientific developments continue, genetic engineering will become a subject of debate not only within academia but also within the public sector. It thus is vital that we, as human beings and as members of society, have a basic understanding of the ethical implications of genetic engineering and are able to evaluate and reflect upon dilemmas in genetics as we are met with them. It is vital that the members of a society possess this basic understanding, I shall argue, because each generation has an ethical responsibility to the next and because scientific developments that present an opportunity for great benefit or great harm to the members of this and further generations deserve serious consideration. Before proceeding with my argument, it will be useful to define the terms that will be involved in my discussion. Genetic engineering is an umbrella term for any procedure in which genes are intentionally manipulated in order to generate a desired outcome. The two fundamental forms of genetic engineering are gene therapy and genetic enhancement. Gene therapy is the process of altering a person’s genes for the purpose of curing a disease. This is accomplished through the use of one of the following three techniques: first, a disease gene (also called an abnormal gene) may be
switched out with a non-disease gene (also called a normal gene), second, a disease gene may be manipulated in order to repair the faulty gene, and third, a non-functioning gene may be replaced with a functioning gene. Genetic enhancement is the transfer of genetic material with the intention of modifying nonpathological human traits (traits not caused by diseases).1 Genetic manipulations may be used either within the germ line or else with somatic cells, which are any cells other than egg or sperm cells. Somatic and germ-line alterations are different in virtue of their intended intergenerational consequences (or non-consequences, in the case of somatic-cell alterations). Somatic cell alterations intend to affect only the genes of the individual undergoing treatment, while germ-line alterations will be heritable. One among many complicated factors both in genetic therapy and enhancement is that some genes are pleiotropic, meaning that they affect people in different ways depending on the unique environmental factors that surround them, referred to collectively as the exposome. Environmental factors (e.g., limited exposure to sunlight, cramped working spaces or sound pollution) can and do play a role in the shaping of human genes. This characteristic of many of our genes is ethically salient because it suggests that the exposome could interact with our altered or manipulated genes in unpredictable and potentially detrimental ways. Diseases reduce quality of life because they increase people’s suffering and decrease 47