As the rising generation of career men and women, we are the future of the United States of America. What we have learned in the past and what we continue to learn over upcoming years becomes crucial information that affects our decisions and, quite frankly, who we are as citizens of this world. One of the major issues in society today is the rising of science and technology. As we become a more and more developed nation, we advance on dangerous decisions. Amy Harmon’s series The DNA Age presents the issue of DNA testing in modern day situations. The series of nine articles gives different accounts of people and groups that DNA testing has affected. When we read these articles we are forced to think about the possible outcomes of so much knowledge. Is it ethical to inform someone of a deadly disease years before they will see the symptoms? Is it better to let people live their lives in ignorance of something that will drastically change their lives forever? Amy Harmon writes these articles to pose these exact questions. Since we, as the younger generation, are the ones making these types of decisions in the future, whether by career choice or simply by voting, we need to be informed and fully aware of the consequences of our decisions. Amy Harmon presents her argument in clear and informed articles varying from the effect of DNA testing on the birthrate of Down Syndrome babies to the quality of life a person leads once learning they have inherited Huntington’s disease. Amy Harmon shows examples of the possible effects of DNA testing so that we can be aware of both sides of the argument. She quotes Henry Louis Gates Jr. when he says, “We will all be walking a fine line between using biology and allowing it to be abused.” Her articles are clearly effective, for they are the mandatory first year reading for rising freshman here at JMU. They are unbiased, inoffensive, and informative articles that tug on the heartstrings. When reading these articles, I could not help but ask myself “what is ethical and moral in this situation?” Many of these articles hit close to home with so many people and we subconsciously put ourselves in these people’s shoes to figure out what is right, which, I believe, is exactly Amy Harmon’s goal.
While reading these articles I asked myself about the importance of science and how it affects me. I do believe science to be a gift. Without science we would not know this world as it is. I believe science was all part of the design. God gives us science to explore and challenge our brains, and to see the utmost beauty of His creation. However, is there a point where we need to draw the line? I think there is. I think there is a point that our society may be too corrupt to be able to handle the impact of new science and technology. Namely, when it comes to race and the unborn. In her article In DNA Era, New Worries About Prejudices, Amy Harmon explores how DNA shows that race goes beyond “skin deep”. It is in our DNA. Studies show our race may have an impact on our intellect. Is intellect the only measure of greatness? Of course not. Maybe African American’s did not surpass Caucasians and Asians in the IQ test, but how is that relevant to the quality of a person? We are all different. We were designed that way; our DNA gives evidence of that.
In the same way Amy Harmon discusses the impact of DNA testing on unborn Down syndrome babies in her article Prenatal Test Puts Down Syndrome in Hard Focus. Ninety percent of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. My Aunt Jenny has Down syndrome and she is one of the happiest, generous, and loving women I know. She shows people love in a way that is so real and she is always the last to judge. I am jealous of her pureness of heart, and sometimes I wonder if her quality of life even surpasses my own. Jenny has always had her health problems, and it was hard at times for my mother to always be taking care of her sister. Jenny developed leukemia at a very young age and her life expectancy was no later than ten years old. If it was known at the time that Jenny was not going to live past ten, would the doctors have told my grandmother that she may as well terminate the pregnancy because the first ten years of her life would be dominated by needles and trips to the hospital? Now Jenny is forty and fully recovered and she is nothing but a blessing in my family’s life. So, what about DNA testing? Are we wise enough as a society to be able to look at the grand scheme of things and the perfect design of the God and base our decisions off that? Probably not. As Harmon says, “we live in a delicate and a dangerous time”. I say, live life as it is given to you. Deal with what you are given and be thankful for the life you have. God is great, and life is a gift. Do not be discouraged about the future for everything runs its course. Live for the moment. Live with joy.
