By
Erin S.
Sunny L.
Period 7
During conception and pregnancy, the genes determining genetic disorders and disease are combined to form a new individual. Currently, genetic engineering is working on preventing detectible diseases on an embryo using identical twinning. Identical twins, first of all, are twins that come from the same fertilized egg. The egg splits in half and changes into two genetically identical eggs during one of its stages. As a result, two children that have very similar features are born. The genetic engineering concept involves using cloning and identical twins to reduce the risk of genetic diseases and health problems. For example, sickle cell anemia is a hereditary disorder that could be tested for its gene. An embryo that tests positive for it could have its cells removed and grown in culture. Eventually, a new hemoglobin gene could be added to the cells that have been removed. If human cloning becomes perfected, then a cell from an individual could be cloned to create a new person. The result would be an identical twin of the original embryo, with the only difference being a replaced gene. Identical twins are important to science, since research on them could be used in the future to prevent genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia and diabetes. We believe that society would most likely accept this type of genetic engineering. According to most individuals, the embryo being used is not alive. The concept could save future generations from having to deal with a painful genetic disease. Furthermore, this concept is much more cost efficient, depending on the region and the disease. Even though this form of genetic engineering requires multiple applications, it has saved one family from a $60,000 per year bill for drug treatment alone.
There are multiple consequences to performing the identical twin concept. For instance, there are positive benefits. A combination of gene therapy and cloning could reduce inheritable diseases. The result of the combination would be an identical twin of the original embryo. This form of genetic engineering may stop the hereditary disease completely, creating healthy lines of descendants in future generations. Secondly, there are less risks for changing the genes of an embryo than any other forms of genetic engineering in this topic. Patients that have changed cells after birth have a higher chance of having casualties than embryos. Lastly, the concept may provide researchers with more information about the characteristics of DNA, cloning, and identical twins. On the other hand, there are also possible negative results of the concept. This concept only allows embryos to receive treatment. Patients who already have a disease will not be able to escape it. Also, the original embryo that the parents had will be sacrificed for the new identical embryo. In other words, the “diseased” embryo is cloned/twinned to create a new and permanent embryo. The last negative result of this genetic engineering concept is that it may affect the thinking process of parents and may impact society’s nurturing side.
We have asked multiple people questions involving the twin concept. Our questions were: 1) "Would you create an identical twin of your embryo if you found out that you had a child with the risk of an inheritable disease?", 2) "How would you feel if you were told that you were actually the identical twin of a “diseased” embryo?", 3) "Would you accept your sister if she is genetically an identical twin of your original sister?", 4) "Would you be willing to create an identical twin or would you rather pay the medical bill if you had a child with an inheritable disease?", and 5) "What are your thoughts on creating an identical embryo/identical twin and then discarding the original embryo of the parent?". Each interviewee answered the following: 1) Parent (to first question): “Yes, I would definitely create an identical embryo if I learned that my child had a genetic disease.”, 2) Sibling (to second question): “I would feel sad and feel as if the world is about to end.”, 3) Friend (to third question): “I would accept because no one wants a genetic disease.”, 4) Cousin (to fourth question): “I would keep the original child, since the relationship between the parents and the child could be damaged.”, and 5) Teacher (to fifth question): “I believe that this is wrong, because it is discarding a life."
This genetic engineering concept could be considered moral. We think if each of us had a child who could possibly have an inheritable disease, we would choose to create an identical twin of the original baby. This is not only helping the future child save money on medical bills; it is also saving the child. If each of our children has an inheritable disease, and we haven’t chosen genetic engineering, the children will suffer a more painful childhood. We think humans should consider re-designing life, not only for themselves, but also to save many others. It is a benefit to the human race; people won’t have to suffer from genetic diseases anymore. Currently, this genetic engineering concept does not impact our present stage of life, however, it may change for future generations.
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