Background
Medicine, more than any other science, draws its knowledge not only from scientific and theoretical sources but also from empirical observations. However, one of the essential criteria for introducing new medical technologies into clinical practice is compliance with ethical issues and norms. The latter, first of all, includes such requirements as the fact that the experiments must be scientifically and theoretically substantiated, participation in the experiments must be conscious and voluntary, and the experience must not pose any danger to the life of the experimental person.
At the same time, there is an opinion that if a patient suffers from a disease for which there is no medical remedy yet, he can be subjected to a new course of treatment, however, only on condition that there is a high probability of the usefulness of such an action for the patient. Only a greater degree of confidence in the predominance of positive results allows the clinician and the researcher to decide on a new course of therapy.
Suppose a risky treatment is proposed because death appears imminent without medical intervention. In that case, the actual risk of the treatment should still be assessed in relation to the possibility of restoring the patient’s health and not against the background of supposedly inevitable death. Unresolved issues in transplantation for half a century have led to an increasing number of studies and the emergence of innovative technologies in the field of medical genetics.
In recent years, research and discoveries in human genetics have been almost revolutionary. In particular, we are discussing the possibility of creating a “map of the human genome” or a “pathological anatomy of the human genome,” with the location of genes responsible for hereditary diseases along a long DNA helix. These possibilities underline the idea of gene therapy as a set of methods for treating or correcting defective genes.
Intrusion into the structure and functioning of human genetic systems can be carried out at two levels – somatic and embryonic. The emergence of new methods of genetic diagnostics naturally raises the question of developing operations to rearrange the human genome. As a result, the idea of gene therapy was born. Currently, two main types of gene therapy can be conventionally distinguished: somatic and germinal.
Annotated Bibliography
Almeida, M., & Diogo, R. (2019). Human enhancement: Genetic engineering and evolution. Evolution, medicine, and public health, 2019(1), 183-189
Biomedical intervention opens up new possibilities for enhancing the human body, but such advancements require careful consideration of ethical, practical, and social implications. In this paper, scientists consider ethical issues related to biomedicine, particularly human genetic improvement, in an evolutionary context. Additionally, researchers are paying attention to the impact of genetic engineering on humanity. The study aims to consider the multiple effects and complex epigenetic interactions between genotype, ecology, and phenotype, as well as the need to consider the impact entirely on human populations.
Scientists conclude that, thanks to modern science and its development, proposals for enhancing a person are increasingly emerging. The key findings of the paper can be called ascertaining the degree of importance of the influence of modern technologies on a person and their natural state. In addition, intervention at the embryonic stage has been studied in detail, and it has been found to have a more significant impact and alter the balance in the ecosystem.
Research findings include that genetic interventions can induce pleiotropy and complex interactions between phenotype, genotype, and ecological habitat. Almeida & Diogo (2019) emphasize that it is essential to consider “underlying scientific studies, to consider the unit of impact not only to the human body but also to human populations and their natural environment” (p. 187).
Consideration is given to the importance of conducting practical research to determine the difference between treatment and change in the human being. Further research may be needed to consider genetic intervention at the individual and societal levels. Additionally, the possibility of revising the legislation in light of new therapeutic methods and biomedical advancements remains a significant issue.
Among the shortcomings of the study, one can single out the lack of study of the relationship between the levels of genetic changes and the levels of evolutionary development. In addition, little attention is paid in the study to issues of ethical interference in the work of laboratories that are engaged in genetic research. Comparing the article’s arguments with Aristotle’s ethical theory, we can say that it does not consider the concept of virtue in relation to medicine and biological intervention. Some of the article’s arguments seem overstretched, such as the concern that humans might transcend evolution. Now, genetic intervention is far from such a level of development.
Mehlman, M. (2019). Bioethics of military performance enhancement. BMJ Military Health, 165(4), 226-231
This study examines the ethical implications of intervening in human nature within the military sphere. The author argues that since stimulants such as amphetamine are already being used in this area, more advanced drugs may soon be used (Mehlman, 2019). In his research, the scientist studies how ethical it is to apply biomedical improvements to a person in the military industry. The author’s description occupies an integral part of the paper on the methods of biomedical intervention in various directions that exist today. The methods used to conduct experiments to identify the optimal method of influencing the human body for military purposes are described.
In addition, the author considers three principles for the use of significant improvements from an ethical point of view. These principles include justice, proportionality, and paternalism. This approach may diverge from the ethical utilitarian concept of the good proposed by Hume and Mill, in which only one principle can be considered valid, directed to the benefit of man. However, the author examines the proposed principles in relation to the ethical issues of biomedicine, which enables the achievement of specific results.
Such research findings include that bio-enhancements can increase the productivity of the military, which in turn can help carry out dangerous missions with less risk. However, the author also found that their use is contrary to the rules of safety and justice, as the order to use is given by command. Accordingly, if a person is opposed to bio-improvements, they must disobey the commander’s order. This, in turn, creates further ethical and moral questions that the author has not addressed.
The study’s shortcomings include the consistency of the topic of biomedical improvements with the moral principles that the author himself highlighted. The military scope of improvements needs further research because here, the question of bioethics is not to save a person’s life but to help take someone’s life. This aspect was also not taken into account by the author when considering issues of artificial interference. Nevertheless, in the field of military ethics, research is qualitative and fruitful.
Szocik, K., Shelhamer, M., Braddock, M., Cucinotta, F. A., Impey, C., Worden, P., Peters, T., Ćirković, M., Smith, K., Tachibana, K., Reiss, M., Norman, Z., Gouw, A., & Munévar, G. (2021). Future space missions and human enhancement: Medical and ethical challenges. Futures, 133, 102819
This study examines the impact of biomedical advances on future space exploration. The article says that missions to different planets can be sent for different reasons and that astronauts can significantly improve their physical parameters through biomedical enhancements. Space remains a hazardous environment for humans, and scientists in this study are exploring the possibility of modifying the human body using genetic engineering, implants, or synthetic biology. The authors conclude that there are good reasons for using the aforementioned biomedical improvements.
The findings of the paper propose that the use of improvements in the field of space research does not contradict existing ethical theories. This may correlate with Kant’s concepts, as expressed in his deontological theory of ethics. When the duties of a person are in the first place in the system of values, then it is permissible to use various means to fulfill their duties. Scientists have also concluded that space exploration, such as traveling to Mars, will require intervention in the human body, as without it, people will be unable to withstand high loads (Szocik et al., 2021). Further studies, according to the authors, can be conducted to determine the type of biomedical intervention required for space research.
The disadvantages of the paper are primarily that it does not account for the level of science required for deep space exploration and significant biomedical improvements to be possible. In addition, when studying the issue, scientists did not consider how the use of improvements would impact the space mission and its astronauts. The article, according to the authors, aims to provide a scientific basis for further research on the ethical issues of implementing biomedical improvements during space missions.
For this reason, the work contains many ethical questions that are not directly answered. The researchers also leave many open questions that they raise in their work, which will also require further research. The study also does not fully address the topic of what ethical issues would be raised by biomedical improvements in space. Additionally, it is unclear what legal regulations and frameworks exist for the use of medical enhancements in space exploration, as well as the associated legal restrictions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is worth noting that most studies on biomedical improvements focus on addressing the issues of their application in specific areas of human work. At the same time, the researchers do not offer any solutions to the ethical problems that arise in this topic. The works primarily focus on raising questions that require further research to study in detail the impact of improvements on the human body, their mental state, and their regulation by law.