Ethical issues in biotechnology

1. Ethical Issues of Modern Biotechnology
Table of contents
S.no Title Sub titles Page
no
A Ethical issues of
Biotechnology
a. Abstract
b. Introduction
01
B Catogories
Religious & legal issues
a. Social issues
b. Cultural issues
c. Environmental issues
02
C
Demerits of biotechnology A.Demerits of Animal
biotechnology
04
D
Demerits a. Demerits of Plant
biotechnogy
05
E
Dealing with issues Approaches 06
F References Refence of the data 07

2. Ethical Issues of Modern Biotechnology
A. Abstract
Biotechnology comprises on various techniques that exploit the application
of biological organisms, systems or processes for the benefit of human
being. Ithas helped the medical science by developing new diagnostic tools
and kits to diagnose the diseases.
Biotechnology had improved the way of living in many aspects including
the industrial , agricultural production, Fight against diseases etc.
Biotechnology has great potential to improven the quality of human life by
improving their health by providing them more nutritious food with
improved environmental conditions. It can ensure sustainable
development by improving agricultural productivity. However beside all
these applications some Social , Ethical, Moral and Religious issues are also
coexist within the fields of Biotechnology. These issues includes many
defects and side effects of products, tools and techniques along with
economical , environmental loss and other negative impacts.
This short data on topic Ethical Issues of Modern Biotechnology is
collected from different sources and arranged in form of assignment. The
refences are given at the end.
Rizwan Abbas Baho

3. B. Introduction toEthical Issues of ModernBiotechnology
Define Biotechnology?
The term Biotechnology may be defined as the application of engineering
principles on biological sciences to formnew products fromraw materials of
biological origin, for example, vaccines or food, Or the use of living organisms
and their products to modify or improvehuman life and environment health.
Bioethics
Bioethics is the branch of biological sciences which deals with the issue rises due
to the advancement biological tools and techniques. It is the application of ethics
in field of mass production and healthcare and specifically in biotechnical
processes.
C. Ethical Issues of Modern Biotechnology
Biotechnology is playing an important role for the improvement of human life.
However beside all these applications some Social , Ethical, Moral and Religious
issues are also coexist within the fields of Biotechnology. These issues includes
many defects and side effects of products, tools and techniques along with
economical , environmental loss and other negative impacts.
For example due to extensive and absurd use of natural resources deterioration
to social and natural environment has also been occurred.
The issues are catogorized as follows.
 Socio economic issues
 Cultural issues
 Legal issues
 Environmental issues and demerits
 Religious issues
The major principles of normative ethics, medical eth-ics, and ethics of science
and technology, include benefi-cence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice,
human dignity, equality, tolerance, informed consent and choice, animal rights
and welfare, and environmental compatibility, among a host of others. These
principles can be important tools for an ethicist to examine particular animal
biotechnology innovations.

4. a. Socio economic issues
Scientific community assuring us that biotechnology is harmless, and promises
marvelous advantages to humankind, even that it may be the key to our survival
in an ever-changing world.
On the other hand there exista diverse array of arguments about the right of man
to interfere in nature or God’s process and the dangers to the environment, the
food chain and ultimatelyour own health. Such issues are largely related to
cultural backgrounds and levels of public perception and awareness. It is
therefore necessary that decisions on the use of new technologies should respect
socio-economic realities. In part due to the technological imperative, our
destruction of the environment is aresult of the very impetus which drives the
biotechnological interventions to ameliorate it.
b. Cultural issues
The ethics of biotechnology entails both a reflection on the immediate
consequences of its use, and on the underlying social and cultural conditions of
which it is a part. All technology modifies our relationship to our environment, to
our work,and to ourselves, but biotechnology strikes much closer tohome,
enabling us to modify life itself.
c. Environmental issues
Genetically engineered plants have also reduced the need of fertilizers thus
minimized the pesticide pollution to rivers and costal waterresources.However
the biotechnological tools and products caused many defects in environment.
The benefits of a particular biotechnological intervention in the environment
typically accrue directly to the sponsor, often a commercial interest. However,
the harms that may result from such interventions typically do not remain
confined to those interests or the individuals responsible for introducing them,
but instead may propagate throughout the environment and affect the general
public. A gene that protects a food crop from certain pests benefits the farmer
and the seed company directly, but should that genecross into a noxious species,
it may well create problems for the general public. For example environmental
risk also increased.
d. Other Legal issues
Legal issues are being arises in the use of biotechnological techniques. Particularly
modern techniques such as stem cell technology, gene therapy, and human
genome project have generated many issues in the societyand there is need to
resolve them for the satisfaction of the person who is receiving treatment or
getting benefit from these techniques.

5. But due to lack of motivation, indeveloping countries like Pakistan governments
have not yet established the necessary legislation, institutionsor infrastructures
to protect vulnerable persons and to address bioethical issues.
e. Religious issues
Religious scholars have criticized the use of biological techniques to expose the
privacy and dignity of human being. Some religions have taken the issue of stem
cell technology very serious. As according to them research on embryonic stem
cell is like to kill the human.
Similarly the criticism of religious scholars on human genome project was very
severe. It is often argued by religious people that biotechnological interventions
are not natural, or that they go against some divine or natural order of things.
D. Demerits of Biotechnology , its tools & Products
a. Ethical concern and demerits of Animal Biotechnology
Before going into the ethical concerns in animal biotechnol-ogy, it is to be
understood that ethics cannot provide conclu-sive proof about the rightness or
wrongness of a technology. There could be arguments in favor of or against a
given technology and its applications.
Examples of intrinsic norms.
 Catholics criticize the Human stem cell research and embryo utilization and
cnd consider this tool as immoral act.
 Human reproductive cloning is the production of a human fetus from a
single cell by asexual reproduction.Human reproductive cloning has
attracted more serious criticism from a number of religions, as it is seen as
directly challenging the authority of God, and is tantamount to playing God.
 In vitrofertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive tech-nology (ART) that
comprises a major technique for resolving infertility problems.The Catholic
Church has expressed its moral opposition to IVF, and considered it
immoral.
 Islam accepts IVF, provided that it is carried out between a legally married
couple, but it does not approve of third party donations of sperm, eggs, or
uterus

6. Extrinsic norms
Besides the intrinsic objections to biotechnology from a religious point of view,
there are secular arguments against it as well. Biotechnology could be considered
intrinsically unethical because it attempts to cross the natural dividing lines or
barriers that naturally exist between species. Bio-technology, according to these
critiques, is intrinsically wrong because it violates the natural integrity of species
by deliberately bringing about genetic modifications
 Evaluating the animal welfare concerns of animal biotechnology, it is
necessary to examine the nature and extent of infringement, if any, that
biotechnology can inflict on animal welfare and rights.
 Risk. The concern for human health arises from two directions, namely use
of genetically engineered animals or their products as food, and their use in
medicine (along with their attendant ethical dilemmas).
 Injustice of social utilization of products is caused.
 Xenotransplantation is thought to be immoral
 Respect for Human Dignity: The utilitarian bias of social justice is
somewhat counterbalanced by having respect for human dignity, which
prevents the sacrifice or instru-mentalization of the interests of individual
human beings.
 The benefits of technology converts in loss in term of causing difficulty in
identifying suspects.
 The worst matter is Black biotechnology.
E. Demerits of Plant biotechnology
Biotechnology has indeed done a lot of good for the world, but it also has
disadvantages, and there are some concerns about its possible negative
impacts. In agriculture, there are concerns that genetically modified crops, also
known as transgenic crops, may insert a plant gene into natural, unmodified
varieties. For instance, a crop that is herbicide resistant may transfer some of
its traits to a weed, which would make the weed resistant to herbicides. There
are also concerns that genetic engineering of crops would reduce their long-
term biological potential.
Impact on nature
Genetically modified organisms may also escape into the wild, especially
transgenic microorganisms, and these events may upset the balance of the
ecosystem in nature. This may cause a decrease in the biodiversity, or the
variety of organisms.

7. Other points include
 Generation of antibiotic resistent pathogens.
 Viral and bacterial genes used in transgenic crops may cause other
impact e.g diseases.
 Violation of natural boundries causing change of natural environment.
 Social and economical losses including cost.
Dealing with the issues
There are two ways in which risks can be managed. They are reflected in the
differing approaches to biotechnology taken by Americans and other countries.
Risk-Benefit Approach
This approach is based on the probability that whatis more than harm. it is a
process that is intended to support the decision maker by providing an in-depth
analysis of the problem, thereby enabling the decision maker to take a more
informed decision.
Precautionary Approach
This approach is more commonly favored by Europeans, which dictates that no
product is acceptable until it has been proven safe scientifically. This approach
prevents the patients from unseen problems as the product or practice has
already been demonstrated before it isadmitted to that person.
One of the basic problems with assessing the risks of biotechnological
interventions is that it may bevery difficult to establish the exact cause of a
particular harmful effect in the environment. Several solutions have been offered
for this problem, including the use ofunique genetic markers to label genetic
modifications of organisms. Should the release of such organisms into the
environment cause problems, the modified genes can be traced back to the
specific project responsible for their release.
THE END