Tatiana Stewart
Irizarry
ENC 1101
15 November 2013
The Ethical Standard of Practice with the Use of Genetic Engineering
Generally speaking, genetic engineering may be one of the greatest scientific findings since the discovery of the atom but there are many ramifications that society has to weigh out before the use of this technology becomes more common. The fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso helps society understand that with all potential benefits that come with the use of genetic engineering; there is also consequences including society’s ethical development for the good or bad. While my second author, Francis Fukuyama, essay on “Human Dignity” argues that all humans have an essence that needs to be the same in one critical respect in order to have rights. So, if society does begin to use genetic engineering on children the standard of practice needs to be an equal opportunity for all humans to ethically benefit their children with respect to all human rights. Even though, it may be greatly profitable for the government to capitalize on the use of genetic engineering, especially for the exclusively wealthy, society must understand while one can trust the government, one must also be able to trust his own intrinsic moral standards and how it will affect the future generations to come.
To begin with, genetic engineering is a milestone achievement in the scientific world that has bountiful benefits including modifications and prevention of illnesses as long as society follows human rights. Dalai Lama acknowledges how the medicinal prospects of genetic engineering can affect the world, “But now, or at any rate soon, genetics can tell individuals and families that they have genes which may kill or maim them in childhood, youth, or middle age. This knowledge could radically alter our definition of health and sickness (134). This means that possibilities are limitless on how geneticists can alter the human body regarding illnesses. Genetic...