Ethics of Genocide and Eugenics Essay -- Biology Medical Biomedical Ge

Gene Therapy: Genocide and Eugenics or Striving for a More Perfect Population Controversy and Ethics Just as there are different types of people who look at one glass of water and describe it as half full or half empty, the public has many different views on the future of our society. Gene therapy is also a glass that can be viewed in different angles – different perspectives. Some say it has great potential to shape the ideals of our future, while others believe it signifies intolerance for disabilities, imperfections that supposedly deplete from a person’s interests, opportunities and welfare (quoted by Peter Singer, xviii). This global issue has brought people with different opinions in the open, arguing their views using history, morality and foresight. â€Å"It is human nature to strive to improve everything.† (as quoted from Ron Harris by Singer, xxii) As the world moves forward in science and technology, it seems that only humans themselves are lagging behind. Success and perfection are so important as to even play a role in determining human characteristics – once thought to be inalterable – right down to gene selection. In our increasingly capitalist society, parents want their children to be born with as much an opportunity to excel as others. It is the same well-meaning motivation that drives parents to make more money to buy a bigger house in a better community, so their children could live better and attend a higher-scoring school (Singer xvi). So with equal or greater conviction, they want their children to be born with a relatively high IQ, good looks and a healthy body. This mentality is adequately represented by a website: ronsangels.com, which sells eggs of women â€Å"with beauty and brains† to the highest bidder (... ...ne starts life with an equal chance of health and success. Yet, gene therapy can also be thought of as a straight route towards a dark outlook, where perfection is the first priority, genes are seen as the ultimate puppeteer, and personal freedom to thrive based on one’s self isn’t believed to exist. With the emergence of each new technological discovery comes the emergence of each new ethical debate, and one day, each viewpoint on this momentous issue may be able to find a bit of truth in the other. Eventually, our society may reach a compromise on gene therapy. Bibliography: Cambridge. The Ethics of Inheritable Genetic Modification. Cambridge: Cambridge Universtiy Press, 2006. Rpt. in The Ethics of Inheritable Genetic Modification. Collins, Francis S. "Foreward." Playing God? 2003. By Ted Peters. 2nd ed. Great Britain: Routledge, 2003. Rpt. in Playing God?