alright friends, i desperately need some opinions on a fairly touchy subject. this a subject for an english essay, but i am having a hard time finding my solid ground. the subject is:
reprogenetics: choosing between boy/girl, eliminating the tendency for obesity or alcoholism, athletic ability, even left-handedness. Before you say "no way," consider the ability to alter our bodies to reject HIV.
xenotransplantation: we are breeding pigs, but not for pork! scientists remove single-cell embryos from a pregnant pig, inject a human gene into each cell, and then put them back inside a foster momma. remember we're talking about pigs here. the purpose for this is organ-harvesting. currently there is no way to get an organ for everyone who needs one. pigs could be the solution.
there are just so many more aspects to this contained in the reading that we've been assigned, my head is just spinning! some of the ideas are just absurd, but to who? everyone? just me? below is a copy of an email i sent to a classmate with similar beliefs, i'd love to hear your answers to these questions! (That means you kyle, todd, daniel, chad, angela, and janine!)
i think we are both on the same page of 'some of this is ok, but some is not.' here's an idea i came to/up with: legalize it and let each man decide for himself what is ok and what is not. how is this different from legalizing alcohol, riddellin, abortion, birth control, gambling, eating meat, or using chemicals for medicine instead of only natural ingredients? i don't think it is. at first i thought that it is not ok, that god should decide how a child is born, that only he should know a persons fate.. but this could provoke the non-believer to ask "so god wants me to have aids?" how is controlling HIV different from a flu-shot or chicken pox vaccine? surely there was a time when people were disgusted by the idea of transplanting organs from human to human, its still creepy! we breed animals to eat them, should we breed to use their organs? i dont agree with choosing the sex, weight, and eye color of a child, but those who do will answer to god. has he blessed us with the ability to reach these scientific breakthroughs, or is this another "apple?"
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5 comments:
Wow! You picked a doozey! It's difficult to give a pat answer for that. My initial reaction is to say that it's bad, but if I had a child that would die without an organ, I would try to do everything I could to save them. But it does creep me out.
Personally, I have a hard time with trying to make a genetically perfect person. I think most everyone would agree. But at what point do we draw the line? Good question. I don't know that I have a answer.
A lot of help I am, huh?
Heather -
so, I guess you have to pick an argument for or against or argue both in your essay? I'm kinda curious in what format the teacher is directing your essay or assignment and how long you have to complete it first? has he/she given you reading - both pro and con that you can develop on?
right at this moment, without reading any of the material your instructor has given you, my own opinion is along the same lines as supermom. we live in a fallen world and cannot blame everything that we don't like on God. (please don't think I take diseases lightly; remember my cat? it's painful!) I truly believe that God has assigned each of us a time to live and a time to die and has designed us all uniquely while allowing the fallenness that's reflected in our illnesses, weaknesses, and any perceived "unloveliness" to remind us of our depravity.
I really understand and sympathize with those who are hurting because of disease and illness and it's definitely a hard subject to tackle. One thing before I forget - this seems more a Tower of Babel to me than an apple. I'd be interested to see what the assigned reading had to say about the subject.
We should talk. I love tackling a doozey of a subject in writing! I once tackled the subject of couples living together before marriage in my speech class! :-) You'll have to guess which side I took. :-) Call me if you want to try to hash it out with someone. I hope you can work it out. I'll be thinking of ya, girl.
thanks for your comments
who draws the line? if god has a predetermined plan for our children, including disease, do we continue with vaccinations? what about prescriptions? if jesus healed the sick, should we if we are able? should we prevent the sickness if we are able?
though these new issues seem so extreme, so must have every other technology we have and accept now.
i have decided that though it is impossible to decide if it is right or wrong, there are many benefits and therefore it should be legal. i just need a proper thesis! janine we will talk about this more! final is due in one week! aahhh!
Couple questions...
Is everything that happens in our lives - that is out of our control - an intentional act of God's will? If my son is born with a short attention span, or my new kitten is born with three legs, is that God's will? Or is God present, active and moving us towards his will in a world where there are certain 'governing elements' including genetics and such which make this world a risky place?
Second question - is there a difference between something that is creepy because it is unfamiliar or untested or just gross, and something that is unethical or unacceptable because it violates the character of God?
Have you seen the movie Gattaca with Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman? Good story and it might help you think through some of this.
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