Human Genome Project

Throughout the world , scientists have investigated and revolutionized our way of deciding how we should live out our lives , how doctors should practice medicine , how scientists study biology , and how we think as individuals . It is called the Human Genome Project . While many researchers strive to collect human genetic materials and determine the chemical sequence , the main goals are to detect , understand , and provide new understanding of human evolution in order to develop new ways of treating and preventing debilitating disorders

One of the medical advancements made available to a husband and

wife that can not have much wanted children naturally on their own may look to surrogate motherhood . Typically in this procedure , sperm from a man whose wife is infertile are used to inseminate a woman , called a surrogate , who is paid a fee for her childbearing services . In return the surrogate agrees to turn the baby over to the man (who is the natural father . The child is then adopted by his wife (Berk , 68 . A woman who is unable to conceive or bear a child naturally with her mate due to infertility may seek another woman to provide an egg and carry the child to term . Upon the delivery , the infant is given to the biological father and adopted by the infertile wife . These surrogate mothers are often said as giving the gift of life ' to couples who otherwise are unable to have children . Proponents often argue that it is a good way to help infertile women satisfy a fundamental human longing and , therefore , should be permitted and even facilitated (Baldi , 42

If surrogate motherhood is looked at in regards to the child 's best interest , there are some questions to be answered , however . Should the child be told , when old enough to understand , the pertinent details of his or her conception and birth ? Should the identity of the surrogate mother be routinely disclosed ? What if the surrogate mother wants to be known to the child ? What if she doesn 't ? What if she insists on visitation rights or other ongoing involvement with the child ? Should a child be deprived of personal information-information that not only might be important medically but can also affect the child 's individual being (Baldi , 56

Surrogate motherhood may be an option for postmenopausal women as well as women of child bearing years . For the most part most of these women went through menopause early and are still quite young and healthy and in the minority are women that may be in their sixties . Overall the concerns are the same as in choosing surrogate motherhood but added to them is the concern of age and life expectancy . Serious questions arise about bringing children into the world whose parents may not live to see them reach adulthood (Berk , 69 . The death of a parent is devastating to a child as well as the possible relocation to another family and community

Another great scientific advancement is the detection of abnormal genes resulting from the...