Genetic Engineering: the technology involved in cloning, gene therapy and gene manipulation

Types of Genetic engineering:

• Germ-line therapy: changes in parent's sex cells in aim of passing on changes to offspring
• Somatic-cell: changes in body cells to cure otherwise fatal diseases (not passed on to offspring). Eradicate hereditary diseases. Mistake could have disastrous effects. Reduce number of minority groups- defect seen as a disability, reduce variety in human gene pool. 
• Enhancement: Germ-line gene therapy to improve person rather than rectifying defects. Hard to define defects. Unnecessary- not worth risks. Driven by companies trying to make money, not to improve humanity. Poor judgement of what constitutes "improvement". Available to rich, reduces worth of humans, replaces God as creator
• Eugenics: Using germ-line GT to create a "better" race of people. Encourages discrimination of anyone not seen as "perfect". Values humans for wrong reasons-misused for racial/social/political ends. Attacks basic freedoms and rights.
• Animal Genetic Engineering: Selective breeding, better yield (fatter chickens), greater resistance to diseases. Unnatural- attacks God's role as creator. Suffering of animals.
• GM Crops- increases yield, resistance to disease, pests, immunity, pesticides. Provide answer to world hunger. Improve environment? Driven by profit, not concern for environment. Costly to develop. Destroy species diversity in environment
• Human embryo research: removed from early embryos which destroys the embryo. (From leftover IVF treatment, created in laboratory from donation sperm and eggs. 
• Sex selection: designer babies

Kant on Genetic Engineering:

• Hard to universalize (no embryos left to reproduce and human race would die out)
• Treating embryo as a means to an end not just an ends. This is a problem is the embryo is considered a person
• Respect for persons and requirement for human rights to be respected- informed consent should be obtained . Respect for autonomy and privacy. Acting out of duty alone, no account for compassion/love, all consequences are ignored

Utilitarianism on Genetic Engineering:

• Only works if able to assess the results of the GE and embryo research and decide whether they favor all concerned. We cannot predict the consequences until the research has happened.
• From a utilitarian point of view, it is better to save many lives in the future from embryo research at the cost of a few embryos now
• Hedonic calculus: Early embryos, do not have the capacity to feel pain and so cannot be measured according to the HC. However, benefits are justifiable using the HC- pleasures brought about by curing diseases outweigh the cost of embryos possible suffering. 

Natural Law on Genetic Engineering:

• Preserves life by curing diseases
• Self preservation: no embryo research as a secondary precept as it destroys life
• Reproduction: destroying embryos stops continuation of species