Gene editing - Pros and Cons

Gene editing - Pros and Cons

Gene editing was not even a term few years back but now the technology is at full swing with more scientific research and experiments being done in various countries. Human genomes were not meant to be experimented and altered is what ethics and religious values have been denouncing about. Scientists on the other hand are arguing that the usage of gene editing technology can be used to cure off cell born diseases and disorders.

Studies and experiments of gene editing in China caused quite a stir last year. US has strictly framed laws and guidelines that are to be followed before initiating any experiment or carrying forward the process of gene editing on any embryo. India is yet to draw the lines on gene editing unless to prevent what happened in China from happening here.

There are apprehensions and doubts, matters of ethics and religious beliefs, and there are questions of making the best usage of what science has to offer. If we have to prevent unnecessary fiasco on the topic, it is about time we consider framing rules and guidelines to be followed, keeping in mind the pros and cons of gene editing.

Pros:

1. Goodbye to inherent diseases: Inherent diseases pass on from parental genes to their offspring. With the usage of genetic engineering, scientists can prevent the flow of these diseases to the embryo. As we know, genetic mutation is being held responsible for many diseases and syndromes; gene editing could play a crucial role in completely eradicating some diseases. Getting rid of these diseases could be a huge milestone in the history of medical science.

2. Longer and healthier lifespan: With many diseases gone, lives will be healthier and longer too since there would be lesser unfortunate deaths due to diseases like coronary heart diseases that run in the family. Genetic engineering could make the human genes stronger and more efficient to fight off certain deficiencies that contribute to illness and low quality of life. With healthier body, more safety from diseases and better defenses, gene editing can be a great advantage.

3. Making the future better: The future of a nation lies in the hands of its next generation. With genetic screening prior to birth, many children could be saved from the harsh realities of inborn diseases that continue to affect their life after birth. If it can be screened, it can also be cured at the earliest. This can also contribute towards making the future of the nation healthier and well developed. Some diseases that hamper the development of a child can also be cured if genetic engineering is allowed to be made a part of medical practice in our nation. Birth defects could be cured and perhaps one day no one will be born handicapped. Genetic engineering can be a real bliss if used in the correct way.

4. What’s wrong with looking good? So you have flared nostrils and your wife has really small eyes running in her entire family tree. What is so wrong with it if you do not want your newborn to be a mini gorilla with your nose and her eyes? For all you know, the child would grow up to be beautiful with a little help from genetic engineering and will thank you for your efforts. We have accepted plastic surgery after all the apprehensions and these days people don’t judge you if you had a nose job done. It will take time but gene editing will also be appreciated soon.

Cons:

1. Not meant to be flawless: No one in this creation is meant to be flawless. Even birds and plants are sometimes born with flaws. Humans are also not meant to get everything they want. Good looks, intelligence, money, free from diseases, no fear of facing the unpredictable – can together contribute towards unparalleled arrogance. Our world is already doomed under racism, differentiations, intolerance towards the other kind of people and defined rules for beauty and everything we judge people on. Can you even imagine what gene editing could do to make it even worse for those who wouldn’t be able to afford it? They will be like a third world citizen amid the other people.

2. Too early to know: It hasn’t been very long that gene editing has come into existence. The human body is the most complex kind of mechanism that could ever be. Science has yet to explain things that suddenly go wrong with a person who was all hale and hearty hours back and lie dead in a few blinks. If anything goes wrong, the consequence could be worse than it could ever be comprehended – because nothing as such would have been encountered as yet. The gene editing technology still needs more research and surety of what it could do and how safe would that be.

3. Playing God: If you aren’t an atheist, you would agree that everything in nature has a balance to it. The good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, the healthy and the sick, life and death – are all part of the balance to keep and uphold the grounds of humanity. Illness and bad times have existed since forever. More solutions to smaller diseases are leading to the recognition of new ones that we never knew of. An effort at disturbing this balance could pay off badly at the end. Living longer, when the body has given up on its natural strength is a burden and not bliss.

4. Designer babies? Children are supposed to carry the physical and emotional traits of their parents. That’s how we like it and want it. Why are parents said to have unexplainable love and adoration for their own kids and not for the kids of other people? That is because they see their own tiny version in their kids. The eyes of the mother, the hair of the father, the complexion from the maternal side and a cute little dimple from the paternal is what makes the kid loved by one and all. Designing your babies to look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie might get the kids to thank you later in life but might loosen the bond that is supposed to be the significant part of the relationship.

We are yet to stop scandalizing if someone gets a lip job done. Think about an entire package of trait alteration in a new born. That would take all the power of the universe to keep people from breaking hell loose before they start appreciating the good work. Gene editing would take some before it enters the Indian market. When it does, it will bring in apprehensions and disturbed sessions of Lok Sabha for an entire year to determine if science is playing god or the party in power is a bunch of racists.

Gene editing and designer babies are still under research. It would be wise to wait for few years to determine the surety of the process and to keep of side effects if any. If we are to witness the development of science, it is about time we give up on signs to determine good or bad, evil or godly.