Moral and Ethical Implciations of Biotechnology
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In reference to biotechnology, what are some ethical or moral implications when we begin to shape or reshape human nature to our own design (i.e., choosing gender, eye color)?
What is the role of religion in healthcare decision-making?
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Solution Summary
In reference to biotechnology, this solution describes some of the ethical or moral implications when we begin to shape or reshape human nature to our own design (i.e., choosing gender, eye color), as well as what the role of religion is in healthcare decision-making. Supplemented with an infromative article on 'biotechnology and making better children'.
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1. In reference to biotechnology, what are some ethical or moral implications when we begin to shape or reshape human nature to our own design (i.e., choosing gender, eye color)?
I located an excellent article on this topic, which I attached for convenience and from which this response is drawn.
Some of the ethical or moral implications include, safety issues (how far will go to reach perfection and is it safe? Manipulating genes for eye color might cause undetected harm in another area?), equality (in terms of gender, will there be a gender bias and discrimination? Will it upset the natural ratio of male and female causing social problems of inability to find a mate (as in China and Korea who has a male bias), higher levels of crime and prostitution, etc.?). Practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is now in growing use as a way to detect the presence or absence of genetic or chromosomal abnormalities before the start of a pregnancy (The President's Council on Bioethics, 2003, http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/beyondtherapy/chapter2.html).
Safety is a serious ethical and moral issue, as our offspring could be at risk of harm in some way. As well, sex/gender selection has come under serious scrutiny: "In 1999, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) criticized the use of PGD and sperm sorting for sex selection, fearing that such practices might contribute to gender ...
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