Genetic Engineering

Science is a constantly growing subject, and with some advances there are some questions as to whether or not it is ethical or moral to perform them. Two of these subjects are genetic manipulation and stem cell research. The two subjects are closely related, so it is easy to pair them together when discussing ethical boundaries. Genetic manipulation is exactly what it sounds like, the manipulation of the genetic material of an organism. Stem cell research is the attempt to find cures to diseases and ailments that cannot easily be fixed by injecting them into diseased portions of the body to replace the damaged cells. Genetic manipulation and stem cell research seem immoral, but are in fact most likely to be the greatest medical advances in years to come

Genetic manipulation is a complex process that can be used to treat and prevent genetic diseases. Many people view it as unethical since they believe that people are born how they should be, but why make people suffer if their lives could be so much better? While it can be dangerous to perform any type of surgery on a human being, since many things could go wrong, genetic manipulation could change the lives of generations of people for centuries to come. This would be germline gene therapy, which is the manipulation of gametocytes that will prevent future generations from the possibility of genetic diseases currently found in their ancestors genes (Moral and Ethical Issues). The issue of the ethics of gene therapy and manipulation is not really an issue, since it is just as controversial as organ transplantation once was. Organ transplantation was once just as controversial as genetic manipulation and stem cell research are, but the medical benefits soon overshadowed the opposition. With time the average person will come to see that stem cell therapy and genetic manipulation have the potential to be just as beneficial.

Stem cell research gets its own debate over the ethical boundaries of where most of the first stem cells came from, which is embryonic tissue. Embryonic tissue is rich in stem cells since the fetus has not properly developed any form of specialized cell, but there is more than one way to obtain stem cells. One scientist has produced a serum that allows skin cells to be reverted to stem cells, and from there turned into the type of cell needed (Weintraub). The most common objection to the research into stem cells is really not a valid objection. The majority of the population believes that stem cells come from human beings, but an egg is not a chicken and a seed is not a tree (Embryonic Stem Cell Research Archives). Yes it is true that an egg has the potential to become a chicken and a seed has the potential to become a tree, but they are still not what they could be. Each human being also has the potential to become a psychotic serial killer, but that does not mean that each one is. There are ethical boundaries that prohibit experimentation on human beings, and