GEC Research Proposal
Andre, Andrea, Joel, and Dagmawi
Introduction:
Our general topic is engineering better medicines. We focused our topic more specifically on the potential benefits and the ethical issues associated with the advancement of genetically personalized medicine. We narrowed down our research and discussion down to two significant examples; one of the potential benefits and one of the ethical issues associated with the adoption of genetically personalized medication. Genetically personalized medicine, or personalized medicine for short, is a new and rapidly advancing field of healthcare that achieves personalization by the adoption of variations in treatment tiered to an individual’s unique genetic makeup. Both the examples we have chosen involve the controversial topic of eugenics. Eugenics has become a significant portion of the future of genetically tiered medicine and is a very controversial issue. The science of eugenics grew very popular in the early 20th century, but became vastly unpopular after becoming associated with Nazi Germany and it’s abuses of eugenics to advance its own “social projects.” Now eugenics has seen a rebirth beginning in the end of the 20th century with the development of new reproductive technologies and the possibility of applying the science of eugenics to ensure that babies are born free of well known and identified genetic predispositions; if done long enough than the possibility of selectively wiping out the “bad gene” becomes possible. Ever since parents were given the option to abort fetuses that were genetically tested and shown to have inherited a debilitating genetic disorder, this frame of thinking was present.
Our first example will be the prevention of a type of hereditary breast cancer caused by mutations in the BRAC1 and BRAC2 genes known to be a class of tumor repressors that code for enzymes that help control cell growth and cell division. Mutations in these genes are known to increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer by up to 80%. Ever since the first “Breast Cancer Free Baby” was born in London England
Our second example will be the hypothetical possibility of the discovery of a genetic explanation for homosexuality, the so-called “gay gene.” Ever since two American researchers discovered the possibility of genetically influencing male courtship in fruitflies in 1995, the quest for the discovery of a genetic origin for homosexuality has become a scientific race demonstrating more and more promise. We will conduct research on the possible social implications of such a discovery and the possibility of the “gay gene” being classified as a genetic disorder and parents given the option to sort out embryos classified as homosexual babies. Our research will also tie in well with the main reason for concern about genetically personalized medication, the possibility that genetic discrimination will develop as a byproduct of personalized medicine. This example will serve as our negative consequence of personalized medicine.
Place to Visit:
The Mount Sinai Medical Center One Gustave L. Levy Place
New York, NY 10029-6574
Description:
Persons to Interview :
Philip Kitcher, author of "The Lives to Come: The Genetic Revolution and Human Possibilities"
John Dewey Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University
Questions:
- What is the current state-of-the-art in genetic technology? What can we do?
- Where do you see genetic technology going in the next few years? In the next century?
- How will society be influenced in the long and short term by genetic technologies?
- What moral implications will need to be taken into consideration in light of this technology?
- What are your opinions on the so-called "Gay Gene"?
- If it were to exist in humans, what sorts of implications do you think this revelation will have on society?
- Should genetic technology be allowed to grow without constraint or is there a sense in which limitations need to be placed on the science?
- What is your opinion on the use of genetic technologies to produce children with pre-determined traits, both life-saving traits and "non-essential" ones?
- What path do you think society will take if we choose to employ genetic technologies indiscriminately? If we choose not to, what do you think is the "best" way to use these technologies?
- How will current social categories (especially socio-economic status) influence the stratifications that might come as a result of genetic discrimination.
- For example: How will the pricing of genetic technologies create separation between those who have and those who don't have the resources to pre-determine their childrens' characteristics.
Prof. Shu-Hsia Chen, Ph.D; Assitant Prof. Goutham Narla, M.D.
Mt. Sinai Hospital
Questions:
- What is the science behind the discovery of the breast cancer gene?
- Is it 100% certain that this is the breast cancer gene?
- How do you go about removing the gene?
- How expensive would the procedure be?
- What are some possible side effects of using the technology?
- Would it be possible in the forseeable future to cure ALL genetic disorders this way?
- How will society be affected by this technology?
- Do you think it is amoral to use genetic technology for non-life threatening conditions, say to make your child taller, or blond-haired?
- Where do you see genetic technology going in the next few years? In the next century?
- What role will socio-economic status play in shaping society's future in light of these technologies?
Academic Sources
Philip Kitcher, Free Press, 1997
Summary: Addressing the moral, social, and political questions raised by the Human Genome Project, a scientific and philosophical study considers such areas as genetic therapy, genetic discrimination, and abortion
John H. Evans, University of Chicago Press, 2002
Summary: "Technology evolves at a dazzling speed, and nowhere more so than in the field of genetic engineering, where the possibility of directly changing the genes of one's children is quickly becoming a reality. The public is rightly concerned, but interestingly, they have not had much to say about the implications of recent advancements in human genetics. Playing God? asks why and explores the social forces that have led to the thinning out of public debate over human genetic engineering. John H. Evans contends that the problem lies in the structure of the debate itself. Disputes over human genetic engineering concern the means for achieving assumed ends, rather than being a healthy discussion about the ends themselves. According to Evans, this change in focus occurred as the jurisdiction over the debate shifted from scientists to bioethicists, a change which itself was caused by the rise of the bureaucratic state as the authority in such matters. The implications of this timely study are twofold. Evans not only explores how decisions about the ethics of human genetic engineering are made, but also shows how the structure of the debate has led to the technological choices we now face."
Looking Forward
Our project attempts to combine both scientific and moral aspects of our chosen topic. Accordingly, we will be presenting both an expository on the current state-of-the-art in genetic technology as well as a discussion of the moral and social issues related to genetic therapy and discrimintation.
We plan to read up on the literature regarding genetic technology, as well as interview experts in the field, and in related fields. The sheer breadth of the topic of genetic technology will make any attempt to summarize it useless, and so we will be focusing on two areas: the breast cancer gene and the so-called "gay gene". We will present scientific findings regarding these two, as well as a discussion of the future of society in light of them. Throughout our project, we will attempt to look at the issues from a moral perspective.
In the coming months, we will do the necessary research into the field, and attempt to raise and find answers to the questions of morality that genetic technology brings.
