First embryos screened for deafness gene.
The article I read was about genetic diagnosis, in which in this case.
embryos were screened to see if they carried a gene that causes deafness.
Although some viewed this as a milestone in the use of such technology, others.
had a variety of differing opinions. Some felt that being deaf was not a life.
threatening condition and because of this they believed that the screening done.
on these embryos had no ethical merit or there was a need to question the.
ethics behind it. Other skepticism leaned toward the possibility that by allowing.
this type of genetic screening would inevitably open the door to the genetic.
screening of cosmetic traits such as eye color and hair color. Even further down.
the line it could be used to screen for height, the possibility of obesity, and.
even personality traits. Eventually, the children of the future would be designed.
genetically "perfect" to the requirements of their parents. Even though these all.
pose as valid reasoning to the opposition of such a procedure, the decision.
ultimately lies in the hands of the patient as well as the physician. In this.
particular case, one favoring the screening of the embryos for the deafness.
gene argued that maybe deafness in a child would be too much for some.
parents to handle even though there may be others out there that may see it as.
a change for the better. The article concluded that ultimately the decision would.
need to be made by the personal judgment of the patient and the physician.
This article was very interesting and really got me to think about genetic.
screening. It poses a true-to-life question in that the decision made by the.
patient as well as the doctor could inevitably change the make up of a human.
life completely. The article talked about the fact that they could detect these.
specific things in genes, but did not really mention if they could or how they.
would alter it. For example, the article said that out of seven embryos that were.
