Human Genome Project :: essays research papers

It all started back in 1953 with two men by the names of James D. Watson and Francis Crick when they discovered the double-helical structure of DNA. Little did they know they were opening the door to the creation of a perfect world. In 1986, the Human Genome Project, led up by the National Institution of Health(NIH), took a giant leap through this door. They began the long process of mapping out the entire genetic makeup of the human body. The main purpose of the HGP was originally for the use of preventing inherent diseases. However, as studies continue to progress, increased opportunities arise for genetically altering the unborn. You are now able to choose the sex of you child before they are born with great accuracy. What is on the horizon now, is the possibility of designing your child to be “perfect';. Over the years, there has been heated, ethical controversy on each of these issues, especially designer babies. How far will we let biotechnological discovery take us? What will come of the world if designer babies become standard procedure?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The earliest and maybe simplest use of genetic manipulation was in the selection of the sex of an unborn child. In Vitro Fertilization(IVF - A procedure in which a woman’s eggs are removed from her body, fertilized outside using sperm from her husband or another donor, and then transferred back to her body.) was originally limited to couples that were infertile. Even the use of IVF for the infertile was unheard of at one point. “But growing demand makes it socially acceptable, and now anybody who’s infertile demands IVF,'; says Lee Silver, a Princeton University biologist. Several years ago, fertility clinics announced the new possibility of sex selection. It was obviously an exciting breakthrough, but when these clinics were inquired about their results, they only had about a 50 percent success rate. “Its affluent clients could have achieved exactly the same outcome by leaving a note for the tooth fairy, requesting a girl or a boy';(Riddell). In the same way, there were many who were opposed to the idea at first especially with the results they were getting, but over time the procedures have been almost perfected and it has become socially acceptable.(Lemonick)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many issues have arisen from the possibilities sex selection will provide. In cultures where males are valued more than girls, such as China and India, assured sex selection could really throw off an already out of balance society. In the United States it may not be as likely for there to be a favored sex, generally speaking. In our case, it is more of a weighted