Gene Therapy
These women...want nothing more than to be mothers; their husbands are equally fervent about being fathers. Their dreams are not of just any child. They want a child or children of their flesh, a child with the father's chin and mother's knack for mental arithmetic. -Barbara Stewart, New York Times (Silver, 211)Melissa and her husband Curtis wanted to have a baby. Like any other couples that are considering parenthood, they had hopes for their unborn child. They both wanted a girl, and they wanted to name her Alice. Melissa wanted Alice to excel at music, and Curtis wanted Alice to be born with temperament and cognitive attributes that would be valuable in the business world. However, Melissa and Curtis had an advantage over other potential parents. They had the technology to make their dreams a reality.Scientists in a laboratory harvested 84 of Melissa's eggs, and fertilized them with Curtis's sperm. The fertilized eggs developed into embryos, and were frozen at -320F. A sample of DNA was taken from each embryo. The DNA was then analyzed to obtain the exact genetic code for all 84 of Melissa and Curtis's potential children.The information was used to create genetic profiles for the 84 embryos. The profiles incl
The application of germline gene therapy could cause more problems to all future generations of the patient. Their future opportunities would be immensely narrowed. Alcoholism is associated with health problems such as heart disease, cancer and cirrhosis of the liver. If those of the poor hope to one day achieve that perfection, they will have to wait until they are financially able to do so. If a new image of perfection is created, it will be unattainable to the lower class. People are bald, have big noses, are not good at math, are shy, and have diseases, all for a reason. Interest in finding methods of treatment or for providing supportive environments for those born with the diseases may well wane. After reviewing the statistics, Melissa and Curtis could eliminate certain embryos that would be more likely develop into unhealthy children. That would solve the problem of discrimination by insurance companies, but it would not resolve the social problems that would affect human relationships and how our society works. Life is the way it is for a reason. If germline was applied, flaws would not exist, and without them, we would all be the same. He would be more at risk than the upper class citizen, because he is still carrying potential disease causing genes, and therefore would have to pay a higher premium. This genetic disease affects the immune system, and she could not fight of sickness.
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Acceptance Essays
