Genetic Engineering of Human Embryos

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With advancements in technology, the impossible is becoming possible. Remember back when television sets were like thick, heavy boxes with knobs? Remember needing to adjust antennas for a clearer picture? What about older computers? Remember dial-up? Need a refresher?

Ahhh, the “good ol’ days”, right?

The past is a reminder that it really wasn’t that long ago that technology was in its early stages. During those times, ideas such as self-driving cars and genetic engineering (also known as genetic modification) of humans were mere science fiction. However, thanks to the rapid advancements in technology, these ideas have become quite real. As technology advances, it's vital to stop and reflect on ethical questions that may arise.

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One of the most remarkable ideas is the genetic engineering of human embryos. This page will provide brief answers to questions on the topic of genetic engineering in order to help provide a basic understanding of what it is, how it came to be, and some of its current uses.

Furthermore, in addition to a basic understanding of what genetic engineering is, this website will also delve deeper and answer a few questions that focus on genetically modifying human embryos. Ultimately, the genetic modification of human embryos is unethical due to its potential of having negative impacts on the baby’s life and genetic code. This can lead to detrimental impacts to society and human diversity.

So, what exactly is genetic engineering?

According to the Editors of Britannica Encyclopedia (2019, para. 1), genetic engineering is “the artificial manipulation, modification, and recombination of DNA or other nucleic acid molecules in order to modify an organism or population of organisms."

What is the history of genetic engineering?

The first DNA made from two or more sources, also known as recombinant DNA, was produced in 1972 (Genetic Timeline, p. 6). The following year, the first animal gene was cloned and introduced to the bacteria known as E. coli (Genetic Timeline, p. 6). Can you guess which type of animal was used? Hint: ribbit… ribbit…!

Continuing with the history lesson… in 1976, Herbert Boyer created the first genetic engineering company, Genentech; which, in 1982, became the first to market human insulin. (Genetic Timeline, p. 7). Jumping to 1994, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the approval for selling genetically modified tomatoes, the first genetically modified food (GT, p. 10). Back to the future, to 2003, the human genome sequence has become approximately 99.99% accurate (GT, p. 13), paving the way for genetic modification of human embryos.

What use does genetic engineering have? Why is it important?

Genetic engineering plays quite a few roles. As the history (above) explained, genetic engineering is capable of modifying DNA in bacteria and animals, and has the potential for modifying DNA in humans as well. Some examples of key usage include bacteria that can synthesize with human insulin, plants that can possibly fix nitrogen, and genetic diseases that can, theoretically, be replaced with regular genes (Britannica Encyclopedia, 2019, para. 6). Sounds great, right?

What makes genetic engineering so important is the potential that it has. While genetic engineering has the potential for greatness, such as curing or fighting genetic diseases, it also holds the potential for great harm, especially with any human experimentation. Because of this, there has been a lot of controversy in pursuing further experimentation in an area such as modifying human embryos.

What’s happening now? Have humans been tested yet?

In November 2018, He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist, successfully modified the embryos of seven different couples leading to the first babies born with engineered DNA (S. Knapton, 2019). These babies are twin girls who were modified in hopes of them resisting the infection of HIV (Cornish, 2019). However, due to the significant ethical issues surrounding such experimentation, this type of experimentation is currently banned. He Jiankui has received death threats and may be facing corruption and bribery charges as well (S. Knapton, 2019).

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Is genetic engineering of human embryos ethical? If not, why?

Absolutely not. The genetic engineering of human embryos is unethical due to its potential of having negative impacts on the baby’s life and genetic code. This can lead to detrimental impacts to society and human diversity. One of the greatest concerns is that there are too many unknowns and too many possibilities of impacting other genes during the process, deeming it unsafe to proceed with this type of experimentation.

If it's unethical, then why are people supporting it?

There are a few reasons why people support genetic engineering of human embryos. One of the biggest reasons is that many believe it is worth the risk. For example, let's go back to the case with the Chinese scientist, He Jiankui. In a National Public Radio (NPR) news segment, it was reported that the father of the twin girls had lost hope over the life of the girls but genetic engineering gave him hope again (Cornish, 2019). Another reason is that some feel the modifications made can eventually improve the quality of a person, and thus eventually improve society. This is somewhat similar to the idea of parents wanting to alter their baby’s DNA for cosmetic reasons to create their perfect baby, a “designer baby” of sorts.

If you would like to know more about why genetic engineering of human embryos is truly unethical, please feel free to explore our other pages. These pages have been tailored specifically to provide more in-depth content and reasoning.

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