Genetic Ownership :: Genes Science DNA Essays

Genetic Ownership In the past century, advancements in science and technology have allowed man to further investigate his origin. Science has demonstrated all living things are made up of cells and cells contain genetic material. Scientists soon will be able to take genetic material from one party and create their traits in another. In doing so, individuals, scientists, and society will be faced with new challenges as to the ownership rights of genetic material. The following will examine ethical issues of genetic ownership by looking at current and future applications of technology and the ethical challenges they provoke. In 1978 the science of reproduction exploded into public consciousness with the birth of Louise Brown, the first baby born as a product of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Today using IVF, a couple with fertility problems can give their own genetic material in the form of sperm and eggs to a clinic, combine them to create embryos, and insert the embryos into a mother’s womb. Society accepts an individuals right to provide their own genetic material to an IVF clinic and create children. Today IVF is a multibillion-dollar, international business providing healthy children to caring parents. In 1997 another explosion of public consciousness occurred when the Roslin Institute announced they had successfully cloned a sheep named Dolly. Dolly was not the product of sperm and eggs, rather she was an exact clone of her "donor parent". The embryo of Dolly was created from genetic material of a donor "parent" and implanted into a surrogate mother. Dolly and her "donor parent" currently live as the property of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, UK. As owner of sheep, Roslin possessed the right to collect genetic material, perform research, and eventually produce a cloned animal. Today this right of ownership is currently accepted by society. In the future, individuals may have the right to use their genetic material to reproduce vital organs to be used as transplants for diseased, deformed, or damaged body parts. This process is called therapeutic cloning. Science has demonstrated all living things are made up of cells and all cells contain genetic material. At the core of all genetic material is a primary component of life, DNA. Simply put, DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) instructs cells how to divide and grow into the living things we see every day. Every human possesses unique DNA. No two persons DNA is exactly alike with the exception of identical twins.