Patenting Genes: Ethical or Unethical

Should patenting genes be understood as unethical?
Should patenting genes be understood as unethical? Yes or No? Which viewpoint do you side with? Why? Explain. Reference at least two outside resources that further support the viewpoint you side with.

I feel it is unethical. The Supreme Court even decided that patenting genes cannot be done. As Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz stated in (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-debbie-wasserman-schultz/supreme-court-gene-patenting-decision_b_3474586.html) there were "two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, mutations of which are linked to dramatically increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer." And furthermore she emphatically stated that "For me, this decision is personal. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was advised to be tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations. I ended up testing positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation, but because one company had a patent on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, I was unable to get a second opinion on the test. Like thousands of women before me, and thousands since, I had the devastating experience of making life-altering decisions based on the results of one test. I believe that the Supreme Court's decision is a victory for everyone who believes that a company cannot patent parts of our body. This decision ends this practice, giving patients new options to learn of and verify their genetic risks." This is truly an example of the companies trying to patent genes being unethical in their behavior.

I have also come to believe that the patenting of genes is unethical because according to "http://www.intellectualsecurity.com/2007/03/unethical-bioresearch-and-pate.php" The Pacific region has experienced some of the world's worst examples of unethical bio-research and patenting of genes by international companies,..." and that the South Pacific and its relatively simple and honest people and many genes of their flora and fauna are being manipulated for profit. The two articles and what they display show why I feel the patenting of genes is unethical.

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