Introduction
The subject of genetic engineering has captured our imaginations since the first strains of hybrid wheat and vegetables were commercialized. Genetic engineering is the science of altering the genes so that the offspring that is produced show a different and better physical structure and even mental ability. While it was acceptable to use genetic engineering to increase food supply by growing better and healthier crops, science has received increased criticism when parents attempt to engineer the genes of the to-be-born babies so that the babies have better looks. This paper examines the literature about different types and use of genetic engineering and offers a criticism about these methods.
Somatic gene therapy
McKibben (2003) speaks of Somatic Gene Therapy as it is used to modify the gene and cell structure of human beings so that the cells are able to produce certain chemicals that would help the body to fight diseases and germs. The author has given two examples that demonstrate the use and effects of this therapy. In one case, the author comments about an old lady who is suffering from cystic fibrosis. Scientists would attempt to modify her genes by putting the genes in some viruses that are injected into the patient. The virus would hopefully infect the cells and make them produce the required chemicals that would fight the ailment. In effect, scientists are modifying the genes in the patient’s body, and this is genetic engineering (para 10).
McKibben (2003) has given another example of how genetic engineering has been used for increasing the cosmetic beauty of people. People who worry about aging lines and furrows on the face take a mild injection of Botox so that the cells in the face are genetically modified and do not fall into furrows. The author points out that Botox is actually a deadly poison, and if used in large quantities, it can kill people, and it is like smearing the plague spores on the feet to kill the germs on the feet that cause athlete’s feet. This is a foolish pastime that socialites, movie stars, and others who like by their looks frequently use, with untold risk to their bodies. Not only has the Botox dose to be taken after every few months, but also the drug causes paralysis of the face muscle so that one cannot show expressions of anger or happiness. However, some section of people is happy to take these injections and do not mind paying the price. According to the author, Botox injections are easily available and frequently used.
Germline genetic engineering
McKibben (2003, para 10) has pointed out the Germline genetic engineering refers to the genetic engineering done on the fertilized embryo that may be a week old; scientists would take apart the cells of the embryo, select one of the cells and either delete or modify some of the genes, insert artificial chromosomes that would have pre-designed genes. The cells would then be placed in an egg from which the nucleus has been removed and the embryo implant inside the womb of a woman. After the customary nine months or so, the woman would give birth to a genetically engineered baby. Depending on the choices and selection made by the parent, the child could be an excellent sportsman, have the intelligence of Einstein and the looks of Tom Cruise.
McKibben (Para 11) points out that such a method, when it becomes commercialized, removes the whole concept of conceiving, giving birth, and the resulting baby would be the subject of product development and technology. It would be possible in the future to alter the DNA sequence just like we edit documents on the computer and print out the required number of copies of babies. This is indeed a scary thought, and the question of ethics comes into the picture, mainly is it right for parents to decide the choice for the unborn children and decide who they will be, what they will do, and in what field they would excel. It is not a question of ’If this process is available commercially but rather ‘When’ it would be commercialized.
McKibben (Para 21) points out that parents are always subtly forcing their thoughts and wants on children right from when they are babies. The author reports that he took out his baby daughter to the forest and the wild outdoors so that the baby could learn what the wild meant, right from an early age, and this was basically because the father wanted his child to be like the outdoor life. Again the author speaks of how fathers begin teaching their children how to pitch even when the child is four years old.
Parents spare no effort in getting their child the right education and training so that the children have some initial training and advantage that will help the child to come up in life. So what is the harm if the parent decides to use genetic engineering to increase the intelligence of the child or make it much more physically fit so that the child can join Ivy league colleges or be a leading sportsman (para 22).
So relating this argument with genetic engineering, the author points out that the advantage of genetically modified babies would be lost when the process becomes commercialized. All children would have an IQ of 150, so getting into Stanford would be as difficult as it was before. All children could pitch fast, curve the ball and attempt to strike out opponents, so the advantage of a genetically engineered baby would be lost (para 23).
Salleh (8 May 2001) had written that a huge uproar had been raised when it was found that genetically modified babies’ research has advanced and that field trials have been taken. Lane (2008) has pointed out that scientists in the US have already produced a baby with three parents, and when the Food and Drug Administration got new about this venture, they closed down the unit and banned research. The research had been taken up to help a woman who was suffering from infertility.
Conclusion
Genetic engineering and genetically modified humans, as presented by the author, appear just as a research project for developing a new ‘hybrid car’ that promises to give 500 miles to the gallon. The process is actually tinkering with life and nature and the diversity that god and nature have created to make the human race. Human life cannot be turned into an assembly line of products, and where the first child would be X version and have certain product features, the second child is X+ version and have much more enhanced abilities. So what happens to the first child, and what happens to the child who has been born of a natural process of conceiving. These questions cannot be answered by science since these are quantitative and psychological concepts, and genetic engineering has no place for these concepts. According to my, the process of producing genetically modified humans should be banned.
“If there is a mystery at the heart of human condition, it is otherness: the otherness of man and woman, parent and child. It is the space we make for otherness that makes love something other than narcissism.” (para, 35)
References
McKibben Bill. 2003. Designer Genes. 2008. Web.
Lane Nick. 2008. Genetically modified humans: Here and more coming soon. NewScientist Magazine. Issue 2659.
Salleh Anna. 2001. Genetically modified human babies? 2008. Web.