The Conflict Between Human Rights And Biotechnological Evolution
By Srinivas Raman,
Eurasia Review
| 04. 11. 2015
Untitled Document
In 1997, Dolly the sheep became the first mammal ever to be successfully cloned. This was a major breakthrough in the field of genetic engineering and since then scientists worldwide have been trying to replicate the success in other mammals such as pigs, mice, cows, primates and even humans. However, the idea of genetic modification by using biotechnology existed way before Dolly did and was a cornerstone to the Nazi ideology and eugenics was used as a justification to commit heinous crimes against humanity such as genocide.[1]
Today, one of the most perilous issues but unfortunately one which has gained scarce global attention is whether humans should be genetically modified. This question raises several moral, ethical, legal and scientific considerations and is an extremely sensitive issue. The startling contemporary truth is that technology is at a stage where it is possible for scientists to clone humans and genetically engineer them.[2]
Genetically modifying humans has the potential to violate human rights and freedom and could possibly lead to catastrophic consequences for the human race if legalized and encouraged. Manipulating...
Related Articles
By Rachel Hall, The Guardian | 11.20.2025
Couples are needlessly going through IVF because male infertility is under-researched, with the NHS too often failing to diagnose treatable causes, leading experts have said.
Poor understanding among GPs and a lack of specialists and NHS testing means male infertility...
By Grace Won, KQED [with CGS' Katie Hasson] | 12.02.2025
In the U.S., it’s illegal to edit genes in human embryos with the intention of creating a genetically engineered baby. But according to the Wall Street Journal, Bay Area startups are focused on just that. It wouldn’t be the first...
By Pam Belluck and Carl Zimmer, The New York Times | 11.19.2025
Gene-editing therapies offer great hope for treating rare diseases, but they face big hurdles: the tremendous time and resources involved in devising a treatment that might only apply to a small number of patients.
A study published on Wednesday...
Several recent Biopolitical Times posts (1, 2, 3, 4) have called attention to the alarmingly rapid commercialization of “designer baby” technologies: polygenic embryo screening (especially its use to purportedly screen for traits like intelligence), in vitro gametogenesis (lab-made eggs and sperm), and heritable genome editing (also termed embryo editing or reproductive gene editing). Those three, together with artificial wombs, have been dubbed the “Gattaca stack” by Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency company...