Response to DNA Age

I know in the past week, most of us, if not all of us, have heard, discussed, and probably worn out the topic of the DNA Age. However, one article I did find very interesting was the article dealing with a women's struggle to determine whether or not she would have to live the rest of her life with the debilitating and deadly disease, Huntington's. This article is not only controversial, but it is also an excellent example of in my opinion, the importance of DNA mapping. Determining genetic makeup allows for people to live their lives differently according the results of their tests. In some cases this may have some positive consequences, and at other times some negative ones.

For this specific case, if I were in this situation, I would without a doubt want to know whether I had the disease or not. I am an 18 year old freshman in college with her entire life ahead of her. Knowing whether or not I had this disease would absolutely change the way I would plan on living my life. I would not want to live my life in fear, questioning how long I had to live. As a young woman there are so many things in this world that I would still love to accomplish such as traveling the world, bungee jumping, and joining the Peace Corps, just to name a few. This is not only a personal issue, but one that I feel I would want my family involved with. If they need to begin making plans for my care in the future I would like to have a say in what is done to my body. Also if my family knows that I have this disease, letting go of their loved one would be that much easier. In my opinion sudden deaths are just that much harder to cope with.

Once genetic testing proved that I was predisposed to some sort of disease such as breast cancer, I don't think I would have a mastectomy. Breast cancer is a very treatable disease for which there is a cure for. I would begin treatments of chemo and radiation, but would not go as far as to have a mastectomy. If the disease is caught early enough one can live a very full and successful life; whereas compared to the case of Huntington's, the disease is untreatable and deadly. Although genetic mapping can save lives, the truth in the results of mapping, may alter the population's views of those people who have sought to find the information regarding their DNA.

In this era of advanced technology, couples are attempting to engineer their babies in ways so that their children will be healthier than others, and have profound advantages in fields such as sports and education. These monopolized genetic engineering companies increase the cost of these treatments, because of their rarity. Only the upper class citizens are able to afford them, causing an even greater class gap in the United States. Lower income families, who are unable to afford these treatments, are subject to even greater prejudices. Their children may not be as intelligent as the others, so in their futures, the college application process will become even more competitive, and jobs will be harder to find for those who don't have these genetic profiles. As a result, the unemployment rate will skyrocket. In conclusion, medically i believe that DNA mapping is a very interesting topic, and feel that for the future it will save many lives. As far as genetic engineering goes, the prejudices that it presents will slowly complicate our already confusing world.