An ethical problem

[Value Buy]

www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/first-experiment-editing-human-embryos-ignites-ethical-furor/ar-AAbzShw


Myself, I think this is just totally wrong.
I am asking the agnostics and people not of any religious faith, to please comment on this issue, but try to keep religion out of this discussion. I only asked of these two specific groups, because we know Christians would never believe in this, and want this topic to be mainstream and not buried in the Religion board.

[OldCoyote]

It is probably already happening in the secret labs all over the world.

[thyme4change]

Hmmm - a way to eliminate painful, horrible and deadly diseases?  I'm in!

[zibazinski]

If it's used for eradicating issues that can have the person not have a good quality of life, I'm all for it. If it's used to create a race of super humans, that gives me the creeps.

[Shooby]

What CAN be done, will be done.

[mroped]

Are they trying to create a "super human" bigger, stronger, faster and immune to all diseases? That's what it seems like anyway.
Even if they claim that is for peaceful purposes it will end up in the military's use.
It will bring on a new set of problems and will solve none of the existing.
The money spent for this research would be better used in the research for cures for the existing diseases.
If they succeed and get the final product, that will be the equivalent of creating a new race, pure and superior.

Does it ring any bells?

[thyme4change]

Eradication is way, way better than cures.  

Don't you think this is how people initially felt about something like surgery?  We open people up and hold their hearts and brains in our hands.  If it wasn't so common and acceptable, imagine how incredibly creepy that is.  We remove parts of people.  That is weird.  I don't think the military has used that in some nefarious way.  

[Tennesseer]

Apr 24, 2015 8:17:23 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/first-experiment-editing-human-embryos-ignites-ethical-furor/ar-AAbzShw


Myself, I think this is just totally wrong.
I am asking the agnostics and people not of any religious faith, to please comment on this issue, but try to keep religion out of this discussion. I only asked of these two specific groups, because we know Christians would never believe in this, and want this topic to be mainstream and not buried in the Religion board.

"We" know nothing of the sort.

[zibazinski]

I'm Christian and I'm all for it, used wisely. DH is Jewish and feels the same way. Both of us feel it shouldn't be used to create super humans but that's OUR feelings. Ugh, GATTACA comes to mind. 

[Tennesseer]

Apr 24, 2015 9:07:47 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I'm Christian and I'm all for it, used wisely. DH is Jewish and feels the same way. Both of us feel it shouldn't be used to create super humans but that's OUR feelings. Ugh, GATTACA comes to mind. 

Thank you for being honest.

[zibazinski]

I think initially we would. Just like sperm banks. You used to try to pick someone that looked like your husband. Now some people want tall or blonde or whatever. 

[grumpyhermit]

Khaaaaaan!!!!

Though seriously, if it was simply used for eradication of disease? More or less for it. I am curious at what point they terminate the embryo's that do make it through the initial editing. I would imagine that at some point they would also need to bring these embryo's to term, and see how it manifests in people. That I have problems with; those people would now basically be lab rats.

It also gives me pause that this is coming out of a country with not the best human rights record.

I am also HIGHLY skeptical that it would end at disease eradication.

[Deleted]

Experimenting on human embryos is not good. If those embryos had been viable what would the result have been? How big would they let the embryos get? If they didn't "die" naturally what then? Do you kill them or insert them into a womb? I wasn't comfortable with experimenting with sheep embryos for cloning etc. Human embryos are that much worse. At least when they were developing test tube babies the intent was to grow the embryo to a baby. What is the long term plan here?

[Angel!]

Personally I see no problem experimenting with one-cell embryos that aren't viable. I can see where it approaches a grey area though.

I wonder how much has been done with animals in this regard. It seems like you would perfect the methodology before any sort of human testing. If 20% aren't even making through the procedure, that doesn't seem very perfected.

I think long-term, this is the future. Instead of "your baby has x (any disease they can find in fetuses), how would you to proceed" soon it will be "your baby has x and we can fix that"

[chiver78]

Apr 24, 2015 8:49:19 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I don't think the military has used that in some nefarious way.  

I liked the rest of this post. I had to quote this piece to say that as far as I know, OUR government (Canada's too, as best I know as well) hasn't experimented on live beings. have you ever heard about Unit 731 though? start on Wiki, and link jump as you can. I can't wrap my brain around most of what I've read about this.

Wiki - Unit 731

[thyme4change]

Apr 24, 2015 12:51:35 GMT -5 grumpyhermit said:

Khaaaaaan!!!!

Though seriously, if it was simply used for eradication of disease? More or less for it. I am curious at what point they terminate the embryo's that do make it through the initial editing. I would imagine that at some point they would also need to bring these embryo's to term, and see how it manifests in people. That I have problems with; those people would now basically be lab rats.

It also gives me pause that this is coming out of a country with not the best human rights record.

I am also HIGHLY skeptical that it would end at disease eradication.

Lab rats. Isn't that what they said about the first "test tube baby." Now 25% of the kids I know originated in a pietre dish.

[djAdvocate]

i have mixed feelings about it.  too complicated to address in a coherent and simple way.

[swamp]

Apr 24, 2015 14:51:35 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

i have mixed feelings about it.  too complicated to address in a coherent and simple way.

Try anyway. It's hasnt stopped anyone else. 

[Angel!]

Apr 24, 2015 14:19:11 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Apr 24, 2015 8:49:19 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I don't think the military has used that in some nefarious way.  

I liked the rest of this post. I had to quote this piece to say that as far as I know, OUR government (Canada's too, as best I know as well) hasn't experimented on live beings. have you ever heard about Unit 731 though? start on Wiki, and link jump as you can. I can't wrap my brain around most of what I've read about this.

Wiki - Unit 731

Apparently hell did exist. You just didn't have to be evil to be sent there.

[Tennesseer]

Apr 24, 2015 15:43:16 GMT -5 Sum Dum Gai said:

Huang's experiments provide evidence of what can go wrong with CRISPR. His team experimented on 86 one-cell human embryos, they reported, all from fertility clinics and, because of chromosomal defects, unable to develop into a baby. Their target was a gene called HBB, which can cause the blood disease beta-thalassemia.

Not really seeing a problem so far.

That's because you are not Christian.

[djAdvocate]

Apr 24, 2015 14:59:21 GMT -5 swamp said:

Apr 24, 2015 14:51:35 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

i have mixed feelings about it.  too complicated to address in a coherent and simple way.

Try anyway. It's hasnt stopped anyone else. 

well, i see some frightening and wonderful possibilities.  i think ultimately this sort of comes down to a religious question.  but when i frame it that way in my mind, i wonder what makes our bodies- our anatomy- sacred and that of other animals something we can mess with.

so, i think what i am trying to say is that i am of TWO MINDS on the subject, and i can't really make that into one.  yet.

[thyme4change]

Last night I was watching something about organ transplants.  We are literally stitching two people together to get one working person.  We are literally replacing parts with parts of other humans.  

One day DNA therapy or DNA surgery will be so commonplace that no one will question it.   

[weltschmerz]

Apr 24, 2015 8:17:23 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/first-experiment-editing-human-embryos-ignites-ethical-furor/ar-AAbzShw


Myself, I think this is just totally wrong.
I am asking the agnostics and people not of any religious faith, to please comment on this issue, but try to keep religion out of this discussion. I only asked of these two specific groups, because we know Christians would never believe in this, and want this topic to be mainstream and not buried in the Religion board.

If I could use genetic editing to spare my child a life of autism? You bet I would!

[weltschmerz]

Look at it this way. It used to be the survival of the fittest. Only the strongest survived. Now, with technology and medicines, our gene pool is getting weaker and weaker. Really sick people are living long enough to pass their genes on to even weaker and sicker children.

If this can strengthen our gene pool, why not?