Genetic Engineering

In the near future, scientists will have the power to create a new species of human beings. Doctors will be able to genetically engineer babies through a mix of cloning and gene infusion. Many people are afraid of both the ethical and scientific problems that this new technology poses. Currently, the science is faulty and confused; doctors do not know enough about human genes. Scientists have been successful genetically engineering mice, but so far there is only fifty percent survival rate (Bohlin). The scientific problems can all be fixed with time and practice, it is the ethical problems around the public and private realms that need to be solved. The private realm is defined as a scale that is the most intimate when one person is involved, and gets more public with each additional person. So far human genes and DNA have been kept private, part of one’s own body that only the owner has the right to tamper with. Genetic engineering would take everyone’s genes and make them public; available to all who want to make perfect children. This may seem like a drastic step for humanity, but ultimately it will be better for all of society. As long as genetic engineering is available to everyone and not just a few private individuals, the whole public will benefit. The sharing of genes that create intelligence and health will help our society to become more enlightened, as Mill and Kant theorized. People need to put their community before themselves and give up their private DNA in order to create genetic engineering, a science that can leads towards public enlightenment.