Evidence

Consider the effects

The entire basis behind genetic engineering is to change one cell and DNA in hopes that something better, greater, and more beneficial will come out of it. Although the hope of altering DNA to eliminate disease is a positive idea, there are many effects that need to be considered in order to obtain a better understanding of why genetic engineering should be less evident in today's society and is an unethical practice.

Health Concerns

As it is prevalent in the news, genetic engineering has always been a controversy and there are many facts behind it as to why there has been hesitation to continue experimentation. As Harris mentions in a National Geographic article, making these irreversible changes to a persons' cells constitutes risky human experience now and in their future descendants(Harris, 2017). There are unknown possible mutations that could occur due to the deletion of certain strands of DNA, as well as other unintended health effects. The practice is dangerous and has too many pitfalls and questions to be a viable option.

Figure 5

Unethical Motives

There is little to no significant evidence that genetic engineering of human embryos would benefit the people of society. It serves more as hope for the future, but with the technology and the present knowledge and understanding of DNA, it does not provide the results that many humans are hoping for. Additionally, there is a risk that parents and doctors will use genetic engineering not to eliminate disease but to create an embryo of a particular sex, or with certain physical characteristics. This is an unethical practice with unpredictable results. It will remain a controversy for many years to come, but for the time being, genetic engineering doesn't have the significance that the world desires.

Is it worth the effort?

When considering if genetic engineering is worth it, the main tactic behind it should be if this modifying process will be sincerely beneficial. Before the second international summit on human genome editing, Chinese scientist, Dr. He made his announcement of the results of his experiment on two twins whose dad had HIV. While initially, it is very rare for a dad to pass down this disease, and on the small chances of it happening, there are things like sperm washing and artificial insemination that lower the risk of passing it on to their children. However, in attempts to try and eliminate this risk to these two twins, Dr. He decided to take their embryos and altered their genes by taking away the CCR5 gene, which plays a critical role in the HIV virus (Shu, 2018) . It is also important to note that testing on sperm and genes creates a large difference. One being direct, and the other being indirect. This proves that there was no factual evidence as to why he did it but more so proves that he wanted to experiment.

While Dr. He's intentions were to try and eliminate this in the children, it was also proved that these children had no sign of the HIV in them. Dr. He's project was immediately shut down by the Chinese government, this caused worry because there was a lack in Dr. He's transparency of the project (Sheiber, 2018). This process was close to illegal and in the end it didn't prove to show that it had positive results in the twins.

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