...Ethical Dilemmas of Genetic and Reproductive Sciences One of the biggest ethical debates surrounding genetic and reproductive sciences is abortion. When parents decide to have genetic testing done, the results may require them to make a decision whether continue with the pregnancy or to terminate. Even for a wanted pregnancy, the decision to terminate a baby who has the potential for a disability is devastating and stressful. There are arguments against prenatal testing and abortion regarding the ethicality. Arguments generally revolve around fetal rights and disability rights (Stapleton, 2017). According to Stapleton (2017), the option for abortion may be provided based on the results of genetic testing, therefore, being unethical in...
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...E Poole Beecham English 101 10059 19 April 2010 Genetic Testing Imagine choosing your daughter to have high intelligence. No one would fault the parents for giving their daughter this advantage for life. Parents can make the decision to use any safe drug or therapy to enhance their future children to make them smarter, better, stronger, to increase their intelligence, height, or other traits (Zane). Testing for medical tendencies to screen and reduce the possibility of future illness or diseases is now feasible. Genetic testing can enhance and improve lives with immeasurable benefits. The rewards of this testing outweigh any reservations. Genetic testing are examinations of blood and other tissues of the body that doctors in the medical field prepare to test for possible defects of the body. These DNA based tests generally involves direct examination of the DNA molecule itself and are very sophisticated techniques of testing genetic disorders in the bodies of human beings. Prenatal genetic testing with the procedure of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD is a technique whereby testing is performed of an approximate three-day-old embryo to confirm that it does not carry a particular disease or diseases (Naik). The test predicts, with variable confidence, what the possible medical problems will be in the future. Then the doctor implants this embryo, which is free of that syndrome, in the mother's womb. It appears to be relatively easy to check the DNA and eliminate...
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...Defines and describes the process of PGD “Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a procedure used prior to implantation to help identify genetic defects within embryos created through in vitro fertilization to prevent certain diseases or disorders from being passed on to the child.” This definition is from Americanpregnancy.org. PGD is used to screen for genetic diseases in embryos before they are placed back into the Uterus through IVF. If an embryo comes back with a genetic disease it is discarded and the viable embryos are the only ones inserted back into the uterus. There are risks that come with this type of test, 1-2% of embryos tested get damaged in the process, and sometimes not all embryos make it to the stage to go through PGD....
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...Individuals should possess ownership of their genetic information. From a legal, ethical, and social standpoint, it is wrong to force someone, unwillingly, into sharing their DNA. Socially, the release of one’s DNA may cause tension and angst between family members. Legally, it is unrealistic to assume that shared genetic information will always end up in the right hands. Many argue over who is legally responsible for test results. Aside from laws regarding doctor patient confidentiality, individuals should the legal owner of their results....
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...Genetic Testing and the Human GMO The controversies surrounding genetic testing, patenting and the modification of genes both as used in disease treatment and genetic enhancement are on the verge of becoming larger realities. I Intro The initial draft of the Human Genome project is now completed, giving access to the DNA sequences of a human. But it is not the genetic information that is shared that has come under the greatest degree of interest. Rather, the estimated .001% of variance in the genetic code is the subject of recent and expanding controversy; it is our difference not similarities that are most subject to controversy. One such controversy involves the genetic screening of potential employees, to spot potential problematic areas in their genetic make up. Similarly insurance companies may screen clients before deciding what category of clientele to put them in based on genetic risk factors. But the greatest controversies come with the fact that our genetic make up is alterable. There is substantial research being done on how human diseases can be treated using genetic procedures to replace faulty genes, but who stands to profit from this and what are the potential risks? Furthermore, can a treatment based on human genetic information (which is shared by all) be subject to the same patent laws as are other commonly used medicinal tools and methods? And perhaps the most controversial is the prospect of enhancing humans using genetically fostered techniques...
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...with no intention to abort HD‐positive fetus and three (3) points that are against it. Support 1) The possibility of a negative diagnosis represents a chance to be spared a long period of uncertainty about a child's health prospects and to spare the child from the same uncertainty in future years. Uncertainty about genetic status can be associated with anxiety and frustration. 2) Parents may use this information to decide whether to have more children in the future 3) Even if it were true that termination of pregnancy was the only appropriate reason to undergo testing, this would not justify withholding testing from parents who doubted that they would consider termination. There is no way of ensuring that those who say they will terminate their pregnancy after a positive test result will do so. Even if guidelines recommend that prenatal tests should be provided only when termination of pregnancy is planned in the event of a positive test result, there is no guarantee that those who say they will terminate their pregnancy after the positive test result will do so. If prenatal testing is only provided to those who would terminate their pregnancy in the event of a positive result, couples who do not have the intention to terminate their pregnancy could resort to lying Against 1) Individuals should be able to make an autonomous decision about whether or not to have predictive testing at a time when they are intellectually and emotionally capable of making this...
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...Running head: EMPLOYEE TESTING LAWS EMPLOYEE TESTING LAWS & PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES: ARE THEY ENSURING TRANSPARENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF AN EXECUTIVE LEADER’S MENTAL & BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCY? EMPLOYEE TESTING LAWS 2 Abstract This paper serves two roles. Firstly, the work attempts to synthesize the efforts of fellow classmates as presented in our mutual discovery and examination of Equal Employment Opportunity law during a traditional graduate level “long semester”. This synthesis piece will primarily consider the focus areas that surround employee testing (drug testing, as well as pen and paper evaluations). Secondly, this paper presents application dilemmas for the practitioner with regard to the language of the current legislation. The paper argues that the current collection of employee testing legislation, while offering necessary civil protections, would benefit from targeted amendments. These amendments would include language that would exempt specific employees of certain protections that are currently offered to all employees under existing EEO law. The paper argues that existing laws do not ensure the sound mental capacity and well being of leaders charged with protecting the collective interests of many stakeholders. These “specific employees” would primarily include executive leadership roles within publicly traded companies or those employees that currently fall under any “SOX/Dodd-Frank” compliance regulations. The “certain protections” that this...
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...positive and negative characteristics of genetic research in the 1990’s and beyond. The authors use ethical principles, case studies, and opinion poles from various age groups to assemble public reaction to what is emerging as a very complex issue in our society today. They ponder the questions of intervention vs. non-intervention in specific case studies about paternalism, dwarfism, privacy, and flawed gene heredity relating to retardation. In two of the cases, aborting the unborn fetus is at issue if the genetic test results do not favor the parents wishes for the child. This raises health, ethical, and legal arguments which are traditionally at cross-purposes. The issues even hearken back to Roe v. Wade whereby the reason to abort is indisputable. On the other hand, terminating an otherwise healthy fetus can be viewed as selective childbirth, not unlike “the abortion of female fetuses in China”. Having knowledge of what is to come, even in the future of the child’s life is making the difference. More parents are being told genetically determined information about their unborn and existing children, which prior to the advances in the last five years they had no access to. The case relating to paternity is purely a moral one. It focuses on the question of whether incidental information which is generated by genetic testing, outside of what has been requested, should be divulged or not. This also raises the issue about the nature of the genetic information, and whether it should...
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...Implications of Prenatal Testing for Disabilities [1] Advancements in technology are creating rapid growth in genetic research including new ways of offering prenatal testing and genetic selection. Currently, prospective parents can choose to test for the sex of the fetus before choosing to have the child or abort the pregnancy. It is possible that technology could be used to identify medical traits that could lead to avoiding giving birth to a disabled child. When considering the best way to test for disabilities prior to the birth of a child we can consider three options: (a) testing for all disabilities should be routine, (b) testing should be done upon request, after prospective parents have been encouraged to meet with a genetic counselor to be educated about...
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...With the expansive development of medicine and science, new methods of experimentation must be employed in order to develop highly sophisticated and extremely effective drugs to help combat diseases. A major issue arising from these advances in science have manifested through the animal testing done in laboratories with the purpose of ensuring a drug’s effectiveness for humans. Though many may argue that animals fully merit their own rights to not be tested on, it is not taken into account how often animals are the best option for bringing revolutionary discoveries, since the help testing for drug safety and providing accurate biological feedback for the development of medicine. Furthermore, it is through the information presented that a...
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...Genetic and Reproductive Sciences Abstract This paper is based on genetic and reproductive science and their benefits and limitations regarding individuals, families, and society. The paper covers the screening and treatment for diabetes and what methods are used to prevent it development. The paper also contains information regarding In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and its benefits for individuals and families. The use stems cells and its advantages and disadvantages are also mentioned. Analyze the benefits and limitations of genetic and reproductive sciences for individuals, families, and society. The benefit of genetic science for individuals is that it can determine if the person has a possible genetic disorder and give them a better chance at preventing the disorder from becoming active, monitor the disorder, or treat the disorder. For example, diabetes is a genetic disorder that can be discovered through genetic testing. Lifestyle changes such as exercising and lowering their body mass index (BMI) can prevent someone for developing diabetes, and the testing can monitor diabetes if a person develops it. Diabetes can also be treated by the use of insulin and dieting if monitored correctly. The limitation of genetic science for individuals is the emotional outcome of the test results. Some people may get upset and begin to feel guilty, depressed, or even become anxious once they receive their results (Cho, et al., 2012). The benefits of genetic science...
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...“Inappropriate genetic testing can threaten individual autonomy, privacy, and confidentiality and lead to various types of genetic stigmatization and discrimination without any commensurate benefit for the individual tested,” (Brandt; Rauf, 2004). When Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) tested their employees without the employees knowing about it, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) stepped in and cited that BNSF violated the employee’s equal rights through discrimination and the employee’s rights of privacy. These actions “raise serious concerns that such testing could pose a significant threat to workers' privacy, autonomy, and dignity. Thus, defining the ethically, legally, and socially appropriate and inappropriate uses of genetic testing in the workplace,” (DEHS, 2001) presents a major breach in a workers legal right to privacy. One hundred and twenty-five BNSF employees filed on-the-job injury claims citing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) for “years of repetitive activity such as wielding a wrench or operating a jackhammer,” (Lehrer, 2001; UNK, 2001). While investigating these claims, BNSF medical doctor required further testing of 20 employees (UNK, 2001). The medical company pulled blood for genetic testing without telling the BNSF employees what kind of test that they were performing, (Mahanna, 2001; Schafer, 2001; BNSF, 2002; Lehrer, 2001; Lewin, 2002). One employee refused to submit to the tests and BNSF threatened to terminate his job (Lewin;...
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...Should Animals testing be banned? English 112 02/19/2013 Should Animals testing be banned? Pharmaceutical industry has been able to do wonders in terms of expanding the life span of humans. This has been only possible by the careful and successful experimentation of different medicines on animals as they have rendered results for treatment needed for diseases among humans. Considering the experimentation for medicines on animals, it has been noted that an opposing party has debated whether the experimentation is unethical. There are a number of arguments which have been posed against and in defense of the animal testing. In the context of the debate, the position being disputed is that animal testing is beneficial for humans, despite being unethical, because it can help conduct different types of tests, and translate onto human lives. In order to present a justification to this position, following arguments have been posed by considering both sides of the picture: Animals are notably the best way to test medications as prior studies and empirical results have shown. With the aid of different animals including chimpanzees, baboons, ants, rats and other species of the animal kingdom, it has become possible for the scientists to find cures. These cures are not just limited to the transmissible diseases but also for influenzas and infections. It is of great interest that the heart of a baboon and other species of monkeys are rather similar to that of humans...
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...In the case of Julie and Jin, they are informed that their fetus is carrying a genetic mutation causing pre-lingual deafness. Through the perspective of Newell in “Disability, Bioethics, and Rejected Knowledge”, he argues that “people living with disability remains a form of rejected knowledge” (273) and the politics involved in post-screening decisions are framed by the dominant hearing community (276). He would state that it is morally impermissible to prevent disability after screening. Contrary, in “Disability, Prenatal Testing, and Selective Abortion”, Steinbock argues that respecting the rights of women to respond to the results of prenatal testing is not inferring that they are not devaluing the lives of the disabled (26). She would...
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...Genetic testing is currently available for more than 1000 conditions, and it is increasingly considered an integral component of mainstream health care (Burke, 2004). Furthermore, many genetic tests are now being marketed directly to consumers. The increased availability of genetic testing may result in a wider distribution of the benefits of testing, such as decreased uncertainty, the chance to avoid passing on a gene mutation to future generations, increased psychological well-being, and greater awareness of available treatments or risk-reducing strategies, but it may also contribute to an increase in the risks associated with genetic testing, such as decreased individual and family well-being; increased depression, anxiety, guilt, stigmatization, discrimination, and family conflict; and unnecessary or inappropriate use of risk-reducing options (Riper & Gallo, 2005). Money is maybe the most important driving force in the modern era of biotechnology. Genome and genetic findings have been given also financial value. The possibility to test for genetically-based individual susceptibility provides new ideas for marketable products. In an industrial worker, a metabolic polymorphism that causes an increased risk for cancer would create an avoidable financial burden in industry and insurance companies. The involvement of such financial aspects brings along several ethical implications in genetic research. The first aspect is the motivation of scientists that...
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