In 1997, the public have been shocked about the announcement of the successful mammal cloning. Dolly, the sheep, is the first to be cloned by Ian Wilmut and his co-workers by the process of transferring nuclear genome (Brock 1). There are issues that arise from the public about the morality and ethics of the research method and objective. They are afraid of what should the next thing that could happen after this technological advancement. On the other side, the scientific world have been fascinated and rejoiced about the announcement of Wilmut. There are many scientists that are excited of the next step in the aspect of genetic engineering.
Genetic engineering is a branch of biotechnology which is concerned about the alteration of the organism’s genetic material (Encyclopedia of Genetics 169). Genetic modification includes copying, isolating, transferring and cloning of genetic materials from any organism (Baillie & Casey 141). Any living organism subjected to genetic alteration is considered to be Genetically Modified Organism or commonly known as GMO. Some people have been arguing their concerns about genetic engineering such as ethical and ecological concerns. It has been subjected to controversies concerning intellectual property and hazards to the ecology. The genetic alteration of the humans is a separate and more sophisticated issue including human rights, ethics and religion. Although it is subjected to issues, human genetic engineering is a major step for the advancement of technology towards health care and human progress.
Most of the political and scientific leaders responded negatively towards the progress of genetic engineering or human cloning. International government immediately banned the funding for the research and development of human genetic engineering. They view genetic engineering as a social dispute towards religion and morality. It will only separate the people with their view on science and their religious beliefs (Brock 1). It is also not legal for humans to be the subject for the research of this controversial technology. The World Health Government (WHO) also disapproved the development of the human genetic engineering technology since it is “ethically unacceptable”. With these condemnations, the progress of the technology of human genetic engineering has been so slow.
One of the major arguments of the anti-genetic engineering is the danger of accidents which is accompanied by uncertain results. Most of the scientists agree that people lack the major information for the genetic engineering and its result to humans and the ecology itself is not well known. However, they always believed that the manipulation, alteration or modification of the human genome is irreversible. It means that the changes inflicted in research and application of human genetic engineering could not be changed nor reversed. With one simple mistake could lead to major catastrophe such as global pandemic or spread of diseases (Brock 11).
Another major argument of the anti-genetic engineering of humans is the morality of the concept itself. The public always argue that only God has the power to manipulate any organism especially humans. They say that man has no right to alter the things that are available in the earth which is mostly served by God himself. They also argue that genetic engineering is morally unacceptable since it is concerned with the research about humans or human cells. Alteration of the human body could also lead to the alteration of the natural system of ecology. The morality of the human genetic engineering technology is always in question since it is concerned with the intellectual property and human rights as a subject of the research and experimentation (Brock 11).
However, these condemnations are one sided and only claims the moral issue of the technology as a whole and its potential benefits are always ignored. One major flaw of their arguments is that they only points out the human genetic engineering as human cloning (Brock 7). Human genetic engineering has two main types which is the therapeutic cloning and the reproductive cloning. Reproductive cloning is the creation of the whole human clone which is more subjected to moral issues. There are questions to this technology such as what human rights could protect the human clone and its intellectual property. The therapeutic cloning is what should be understood fully by the public and not the reproductive cloning. Therapeutic cloning is the process in which human cells are cloned which could be used in medicine, research and transplants (Encyclopedia of Genetics 169). Stem cell and the somatic-cell nuclear transfer are two of the major products of therapeutic cloning (Marris np).
The major problem for the debate of the human genetic engineering is that the anti-human cloning is only concerned with one type which is the reproductive cloning. Reproductive cloning could always be banned since the major benefits of the technology are in the therapeutic type of cloning. The public is always blinded by the movies and TV series about the dangers and issue of human cloning but they never really understood its concept and its benefits. They always view human genetic engineering to the reproductive cloning or the complete cloning of a human like the sheep Dolly. With the proper education and media advertisement to the concept of human genetic engineering, the public could easily understand the advantage of the technology (Baillie & Casey 140).
In most of the science fiction movies and TV series, research about human genetic engineering is always associated with accidents in the laboratory resulting into researchers and scientists to become monster. However, even other parts of sciences could be subjected to accidents and risks. Space crash and explosions are part of the technological progress of astronomy and space research. Risks and hazards are also associated with the research and development of the human genetic engineering. The effects or the potential hazards of the human genetic engineering accidents could be studied or well-known as long as there is enough funding for its research. In order to understand fully the concepts and risks of this technology, the government as well as the health leaders should allow developments for area of human genetic engineering (Gunderson 2).
The benefits of the human genetic engineering are the commonly ignored fact about the debate for this technology. The gene therapy which is a branch of human genetic engineering could be helpful in understanding the principle of heredity and deadly diseases. In the modern times, the societies have been subjected to deadly diseases such as cancer, AIDS and malaria. Genetic engineering or more specifically, the gene therapy could help in curing these deadly diseases using genome alteration and transfer (Baillie & Casey 140). In this process, several useful substances found in the human cells such as nucleic acid polymers are duplicated and modified to become the drug to treat the disease. Complete human cloning is not important in gene therapy. Only a small amount of the human cells are duplicated in order to treat the patient with the deadly disease. Although it is only a developing technology, it is a promising solution to the problem of deadly disease and human health care (Marris np).
Aside from the treatment of the deadly diseases, the aspect of the human health will progress and develop with the help of the advancements in human genetic engineering technology. With the use of this technology, medical practitioners and scientists could identify and diagnosed several genetic disorders and carefully understand them as well as its hereditary characteristics (Encyclopedia of Genetics 169). With the proper knowledge of human genetic engineering, and the basic research and experimentation to the human cells, scientists could now predict the genetic disorder even before the symptoms could appear. Human genetic engineering could also help the medical practitioners to identify genetic disorder even before the birth of the baby due to the proper information about the hereditary characteristics of the human genome (Marris np).
The advancement of the knowledge for the human genetic modification could also help in the progress of the knowledge of human development. Human genetic engineering could help a person understand the traits and characteristics that generally controls them. Gene therapy and therapeutic cloning could be a promising technology in curing fractures and disabilities without sacrificing the health of the patients (Gunderson 2). It could be done using the technology of the stem cell transplants. Stem cells are biological cells usually present in the fetus which enables developments of the human body parts. Stem cells could be cloned or replicated and be induced to a blind person so that the cells could help the tissues of the eyes to regenerate and to allow to operate. This technology is also only at its infant stage but it could be a promising technology in curing or treating disabilities (Marris np).
Human cloning could always benefit mankind. Human genetic engineering could be a major step in order to develop or create a technology that could regenerate the ageing cells of a person. Human genetic engineering could also be helpful in regenerating the cells of a body organ that failed or damaged (Baillie & Casey 142). In the latest technology of the human genetic engineering, organs such as kidneys and livers are now being cloned and transplanted to patients. This technology could remove the concept of organ donation since organs could now come from specific cells and not from anyone who could suffer the consequences. Human body could also be altered in order to fulfill its maximum capacities by eliminating diseases and improving the health of a person (Gunderson 2).
Human genetic engineering is always subjected to moral issue. However, if one could eliminate the concept of reproductive cloning and only accepts the benefits of therapeutic cloning, then the positive feedback of the human genetic engineering could be understood. Human genetic engineering is not always creating an exact clone of person but using human cells as a bridge for health care developments and progress. The ethical and moral issue of the human genetic engineering could be avoided as long as it is not pertained to the reproductive cloning. Modification and alteration of the human genome and cells could be a lot more beneficial to human life. Although it is subjected to issues, human genetic engineering is a major step for the advancement of technology towards health care and human progress.
Works Cited:
Brock, Dan. Cloning Human Beings. An assessment of Ethical Issues Pro and Con. Brown University. Nd. Web. https://bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/nbac/pubs/cloning2/cc5.pdf.
Baillie, H,. & Casey, T. Is Human Nature Obsolete? Genetics, Bioengineering and the Future of the Human Condition. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. 2005. Print.
Gunderson, M. Genetic Engineering and the Consent of Future Person. Journal of Evolution and Technology, 18(1): 1-8. 2008. Print.
Marris, Claire. Public Views on GMOs: Deconstructing the Myths. National Institute of Health. 2001. Web. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1083956/.
DNA Cloning. Encyclopedia of Genetics. Vol 1 A-D. San Diego: Academic Press. 2002. Print.
