Genetic Tecnology (and the future portrayed in GATTACA)

Essay by mentalfilterHigh School, 10th gradeA+, March 2005

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Families want their kids to be happy and healthy, but parents can be the source of unhappiness or unhealthiness of a child because of the genes they give them. Technological advances in genetics can give parents what they always wanted, a child who is perfect in every way. This possibility raises some serious concerns. Would parents use the technology to make children healthy? Or would they use it to create a better child than their neighbors? If the baby were not perfect, would it be regarded as a failure because of one or two imperfections? Could genetics be used an excuse for behavior? Many people say violent tendencies are genetic. Would that be a fair reason to get out of a trial or a death sentence? After that could not anyone blame genes for any crime?

No parent wishes a genetic disorder on his or her child, but most love their child regardless of their genetics.

Although some disorders are not caused by parents genes such as Down's Syndrome, many afflictions are.

Knowing what is contained in our genes is good in some ways, but bad in others. Knowing your genes might mean you know you will die an early death, ruining your life. Many people who find out through genetic testing that they have a degenerating disease commit suicide instead, feeling they have nothing to live for, and that it is the only way to prevent their inevitable pain. Knowing your health problems could greatly affect health and life insurance, getting you turned down by insurance companies because you have any life threatening or health altering condition. Your DNA says more about you than you ever could know, and it is the most personal thing you have. It revels things about you that you don't want public, but you...