For Altering Genome

For centuries humankind has had people who have suffered from various genetic diseases that have affected them mentally or physically restricting these people from living a healthy and free life. Thanks to doctors and researchers in the 20th and 21st century we now have ways that we can temporarily treat these diseases through medication, but why should we continue to give patients medication every day that only last a few hours until they have to pop another pill when we can prevent people from having genetic diseases altogether by altering the human genome. With altering the human genome comes many benefits such as: curing genetic diseases, slowing down the aging process and save a lot of money. So this brings me back to the question “just because we can, should we?”, I think that we should alter the human genome because I believe that these alterations are the start to brighter and healthier future on planet Earth.

First, let’s talk about the curing of hereditary diseases by altering the genome. By editing the human genome we can cure genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that affects the exocrine glands. This causes the formation of very thick mucus that blocks the intestines, bronchi and pancreatic ducts which generally results in respiratory infections. Due to the scarring from these respiratory infections a patient who suffers from cystic fibrosis will either slowly suffocate since their lungs are too weak to give them enough oxygen or their immune system will shutdown ultimately resulting in their death at a young age of approximately 30 years old. Just like cystic fibrosis, there are many other hereditary disorders that can negatively affect an individual's life reducing their lifespan, like Huntington's (patients generally live to 20) and heart disease which has a low lifespan of 5 years old. It’s sad to think that there are people that are born into this world to suffer and then die so young, why must we get a fair chance to live healthy but others who are going to be born into this world not given this opportunity. Parents and the children with these diseases shouldn’t have to live a life where they suffer so much to die so young when other children will be playing and moving on with their lives, it’s just not fair. If we edit the human genome we would give these children that are supposed to have diseases the same opportunities that healthy children would get to live a happy and successful life.

Thousands of people die each day due to causes that are age-related. The biggest cause of death in the developing world is cardiovascular disease. There are many diseases that come with aging but some of the most prevalent are cardiovascular disease and cancer. Gene editing can help delay aging preventing the cause of death from those types of diseases. Gene altering can also be an incredible change when it comes to future generations as it could offer the possibility that people will be living twice as long as we will with the loss of their memory and bone strength. Now, it’s not like these alterations will create a the future where you have people who are 165 years old that look 25 and can bench press 200 pounds, this type of gene editing would just allow the elderly to live there with fewer chances of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, loss of their memory and bone fractures due to more fragile bones. This would not only increase the possibility of a future where the elderly are more healthy but where the economy thrives, that brings we to my final point on financial improvement.

Finally, not only would the altering of the human genome cure diseases, and delay the aging process, but it would also help to enhance our economy and save money that could be used for other things in our country. In Canada alone last year we spent 228 billion dollars on health care, which is 6,299 dollars per person. If we were to alter the human genome we would see that there would be a decrease in the amount of money we use each year for drugs and medical equipment since there would no longer be people with hereditary disorders and fewer people with aging diseases that would normally require tax money to have access to medical equipment and medicine. The money that was saved from the use of genome alterations could then be used to perhaps; fund our underfunded military, caring for our indigenous peoples and finally be used help reduce the impact of climate change which is damaging Canada’s Arctic wildlife.

In conclusion, I believe that the human genome should be altered because it would allow all people to have a fair chance at life without a genetic disease, allow the elderly to live longer healthier lives and save tax dollars that can be used for other things such as environmental care and aid for indigenous people.

Works Cited

"Can CRISPR Stop Us from Aging? – Synthetic Guide RNA for CRISPR Genome Editing | Synthego." Synthetic Guide RNA for CRISPR Genome Editing Synthego. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2017.

"Cystic Fibrosis Canada." Cystic Fibrosis Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2017.

"The Economics of Gene Therapy." The Ophthalmologist. N.p., 13 Apr. 2017. Web. 17 June 2017.

"Five Reasons We Should Embrace Gene-editing Research on Human Embryos." Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2017.

"Health Spending." Health Spending | CIHI. N.p., 13 June 2017. Web. 17 June 2017.