Running Head: TAKING SIDES

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Taking Sides: Is Genetic Enhancement an Acceptable Use of Technology?

Salt Lake Community College
Alphonce Mungunda
21 Nov. 2014

Taking Sides

Mungunda

Sandel & Trachtmans article, Is genetic enhancement an acceptable use of

technology? Offers an interesting debate on the topic of genetic enhancement being an
appropriate use of technology. This article will summarize and discuss both of their unique
perspectives, while also offering my own views, and finally discussing what the societal
implications would be if the perspective in question were to be followed completely. Below you
will find both authors perspectivesMichael Sandel who believes it is an acceptable use of
technology, and Howard Trachtman who does not believe it is an acceptable use of technology.
YES: Proponents of perfection argue that enhancement is a new way of expression of the natural
desire of human beings to improve their wealth and well-being. With specificity to the area of
genetics, enhancement provides an avenue through which a host of diseases and genetic
disorders could be cured.
No: Opponents of perfection argue that enhancement is morally wrong regardless of whether it
is undertaken for the benefit of a person or their children, or not.
Scientific Question
Does genetic engineering present the solution to the war on cancer?
Response
Sandel and Tratchtman (2005) explain that breakthroughs in genetics have presented
hope towards the prevention of various diseases. With new knowledge, it is now possible to
manipulate the very nature of the human body including muscle enhancement, growth hormone
treatment, and reproductive technologies. According to the world health organization, the
prevalence of cancer is on a steady increase, with a fifty percent expected increase in the rate of

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cancer in the next two decades (WHO, n.d). Because of these appalling statistics, focus has
shifted towards scientific research into the disease, especially in the wake of advancement in
genetic research and technology that have revolutionized screening procedures. Ergo, the World
Health Organization argues that genetic research may hold the key to the treatment,
management, and prevention of cancer.
According to the World Health Organization, the causes of cancer can be broadly
categorized as environmental and genetic (WHO, n.d). Ergo, although past research has mainly
focused on the role of the environment on cancer development, an analysis of the relationship
between environmental factors and genes is warranted. In fact, the World Health Organization
criticizes past and present research that fails to factor in genetic influences in the causation of
cancer, on grounds that to results to half as good anti-cancer approaches. It is based on these
gaps of knowledge that various avenues of managing and treating cancer continue to be
investigated.
For instance, Kershaw, Westwood, and Darcy (2013) explain that T cells have been
discovered to have the capacity of eradicating diseases. However, the authors note that T cells
have previously been ineffective in the eradication of tumors, especially because cancer cells are
invisible to the human immune system. Cancer cells further create a microenvironment that
dissuades and suppresses the activity, survival, and migration of T cells. Genetic engineering of
the T cells has been pointed out as one of the ways through which these limitations can be
overcome. This can be achieved through the modification of T cells taken from the blood of the
cancer patient, by encoding these cells with genes encoding receptors to counteract the
challenges presented. Furthermore, more genes can be introduced to facilitate resistance to

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immunosuppression, facilitate entry of the engineered t cells into the tumors and extending the
survival of these cells.
Genetic modification thus presents an approach whereby highly active anti-cancer cells
can be generated to kill eradicates cancerous cells ad tumors in the patient (Kershaw et al.,
2013). Essand and Loskog (2013) in support of this view explain that T-cell immunotherapy has
been lauded as a promising approach to the treatment of cancer, especially following genetic
engineering on the cells. The authors echo the previous argument that while T cells have been
limited by their ability to isolate and penetrating tumor associated antigens, ex vivo transfer of t
cells from patients can be genetically altered to create T cells receptors that not only recognize
tumors, but also kill these tumor cells. The authors further explain that T cells have previously
been used for the treatment of cancer in a small number of patients.
Further support in favor of genetic enhancement is presented by Morgan et al. (2008)
who explains that the adoptive transfer of lymphocytes following host immune depletion
presents possibility in mediating he objective cancer regression in human subjects suffering from
metastatic melanoma. The authors further reiterate on the role of T cells in immunotherapy,
based on the potential of genetically engineered cells as biological therapies for cancer.
Societal Implications if Genetic Engineering is to be Followed Completely
The societal implications if genetic engineering is to be followed completely with regards
to finding a cure for cancer would be better health and well-being. According to the World
Health organization (n.d), over ten million new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year, with
over seven million deaths annually associated to cancer. Thus, genetic engineering presents an
avenue through which the fight against cancer can be won, and through which the health of

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society can be improved while lowering mortality. For a battle that has been ongoing for
decades, genetic engineering may hold the key that is so much anticipated and desired.
Based on these arguments and review, it is the view of this paper that the proponents of
advancement are actually on the right track with regards to the advancement debate. While there
are moral issues in this debate, the bottom line is that advancement particularly with regards to
genetic engineering may contribute to improved health and well-being of society by facilitating
the prevention, management, and cure of stubborn disease such as cancer.

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References
Essand, M., & Loskog, A. S. (2013). Genetically engineered T cells for the treatment of cancer. Journal
of internal medicine, 273(2), 166-181.
Kershaw, M. H., Westwood, J. A., & Darcy, P. K. (2013). Gene-engineered T cells for cancer
therapy. Nature Reviews Cancer, 13(8), 525-541.
Morgan, R. A., Dudley, M. E., Wunderlich, J. R., Hughes, M. S., Yang, J. C., Sherry, R. M., ... &
Rosenberg, S. A. (2006). Cancer regression in patients after transfer of genetically engineered
lymphocytes. Science, 314(5796), 126-129.
Sandel, M., & Tratchtman, H. (2005). Is genetic enhancement an unacceptable use of technology?
WHO. (n.d). Genetics in prevention and treatment of cancer. World Health Organization. Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/genomics/about/Cancer.pdf