Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to enlighten and explore genetic enhancement of human embryo in a holistic manner. The core objective of the paper is to represents the current research and advancement is science in the context of human embryo enhancement genetically. Moreover, the paper also refers to several arguments and critics that are imposed upon the process. Genetic enhancement of human embryo is considered more effective process of reproduction which is free from disruptions or anomalies that hinder reproduction in humans. However, the critics argue that the genetic enhancement of human embryo is as unethical as cloning. The critics also assert that there can be several side effects associated with the process that not only affects the fetus but also the parent. Nonetheless, genetic enhancement of human embryo is un-natural process assisting reproduction; in addition, the critics also maintain that the process is unethical.

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Complications Associated with Genetic Enhancement of Human Embryo4

Risks Associated with the Procedure5

Human Experimentation Banishment6

Confidentiality and Secrecy Issues7

Errors Associated with the Process8

Governmental Regulation8

Arguments Contradicting Human Cloning9

Conclusion10

Works Cited12

Genetic Enhancement of Human Embryos

Introduction

As medical research in human reproductive technology and genetics makes possible the manipulation of many steps in human reproduction, it also raises novel ethical issues and introduces new dilemmas in applied ethics. In some instances, technology has been modified to meet ethical objections. One cluster of technologies assists conception in couples who cannot conceive naturally. Examples are sperm treatments, injection of sperm into eggs (ICSI), hormonal stimulation of ovulation, egg retrieval by various routes, fertilization in the laboratory (in vitro fertilization, or IVF) and transfer of an embryo into a uterus (ET or ER). A second cluster of technologies provides donor sperm, donor egg, or the use of another woman's uterus when any of these is missing or non-functional.

Examples are artificial insemination by donor (AID or DI), donor egg or sperm combined with IVF, and the misnamed “surrogacy,” in which a woman gestates a fetus to be raised by others. A third cluster manipulates egg or embryo in the laboratory for such purposes as sex detection, analysis of chromosomes or genes, embryo freezing, cloning by embryo splitting or nuclear transplantation, or genetic engineering. A fourth cluster diagnoses or corrects defects in a fetus through prenatal diagnosis or fetal surgery. A fifth detects genes in babies and adults via such procedures as genetic screening, genetic fingerprinting, and chromosome mapping/sequencing “the genome project.”

Complications Associated with Genetic Enhancement of Human Embryo

At the centre of RGT debates is the unresolved issue of whether an embryo from the moment of conception is a person with full human rights and thus entitled to protection. Morally problematic, therefore, are: IVF because so many created embryos fail to implant; freezing of or alteration to embryos; prenatal diagnosis because it might lead to abortion. The position of professional organizations such as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (formerly, American Fertility Society) is that the human embryo “is entitled to profound respect, but does not possess full human rights,” that any obligations to embryos can ...