eat desperately ill patients, or to prevent a disease. Under the Hippocratic oath doctors are obligated to help patients in any way possible. Doctors, patients, and scientists have rights to explore gene therapy and create new medicines to save people. The uses of gene therapy are unlimited. Presently patients are being saved. Patients with clog arteries in the lower extremities can be injected with genes that make the protein to manufacture new blood vessels. By making new blood vessels, the clot can be bypassed, saving the patients life. Another treatment is growing new skin to heal wounds, or to increase the effectiveness of the immune system using specific genes. The long-term uses will include the treatment of disease. Gene therapy can be used to prevent mental illness or even alcoholism. But more importantly cancer and HIV can be prevented by expressing genes that block or protect us from growth of infectious agents (carcogens or viruses). Finally gene therapy will likely be developed for correction of genetic defects in families by transferring genes to reproductive cells (germ-line). Whether gene therapy will be used for enhancement is questionable, but it does seem inevitable. Presently gene therapy can save lives and in the future it will save more live. But although I have hopes for the positive effects of gene therapy, I have fears about the negative consequences of gene therapy. There are many societal concerns arising from genetic engineering. The public is concerned that insurers will use genetic information to deny, limit, or cancel insurance policies. Also that employers will use genetic information to deny, limit, or cancel insurance policies. But already Ex-President has taken steps to protect citizens from unfair uses of gene therapy. On February 8, 2000 President Clinton signed an executive order prohibiting every federal department and agency from using genetic information in hiring or promoting action. Some skept...
