Pratiwi Sudarmono Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia

Presented at JBHKI, Padang, March 15, 2014

Biotechnology milestones
Watson and Crick discover the structure of DNA in 1952 Early 70s : discovery of restriction enzymes ; lead to a

gene and molecular cloning

Dolly sheep born in July ,1996, using SCNT techniques

complete human genome,2003

GMO

Biotech product available

Biotechnology
Biotechnology is the use of biological processes, organisms, or

systems to manufacture products intended to improve the quality of human life. Biotechnology, at its core, is about understanding life and using this knowledge to benefit people. a significant force in improving the quality of peoples lives in the 21st century.

Red biotech : applied to medicine and health Green biotech : applied to agriculture Grey biotech : applied to many chemical processes Blue biotech : applied in marine and aquatic life
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/biotechnology

Concern of an ethical issue

Biotechnology, like other advanced technologies, has

the potential for misuse. Concern about this has led to efforts by some groups to enact legislation restricting or banning certain processes or programs, such as human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research. There is also concern that if biotechnological processes are used by groups with a bizarre intent, the end result could be biological warfare.

 The human capacity for good and evil, whether

intended or unintended, impacts how people view the ethics of technology

Biotechnology has some characteristic which are

different from other technology, that require a careful re-examination of how its ethical dimensions are evaluated, it is not only difficult, but different

Challenging characteristics of biotechnology

The Vulnerability of Nature

previous ethical approach focused only on human, with an assumption that natural resources were in endless supply, and that nature could rebound from any human impact Examples : Issues of GMO and the environment problem, It is more than just human-human interactions

Challenging characteristics of biotechnology

Limitations with right
Access to biotechnology and new treatments can be

defended on the basis of individual rights and personal autonomy, for example when an individual person may want reproductive cloning rather than focusing exclusively on human rights and entitlements, the new technological era requires a greater focus on human responsibility.

Challenging characteristics of biotechnology

Future consequences

Earlier technology impacted humans and their lives, but did not have the potential to change human nature.

Biotechnology does ! Predictions about these consequences can be difficult and unreliable ! THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLES (humans are limited in our ability to understand, control and direct nature)

Challenging characteristics of biotechnology

Impact on human nature and personhood
The capacity for biotechnology to create and change

human lives calls for careful reflection on what it means to be human and the place of human personhood.
According to the contemporary German philosopher,

Jurgen Habermas (2003)

For as soon as adults treat the desirable genetic traits of their descendents as a product they can shape according to a design of their own liking, they are exercising a kind of control over their genetically manipulated offspring that ... should only be exercised over things, not persons.

Social, emotional and spiritual implications of developments in biotechnology

Biotechnology has the potential to do great good, but

also has the potential to cause much harm

Cars and computers have affected many aspects of

human life and society

Biotechnology could change what it means to be

human

 People have rights

Each right carries a corollary duty or responsibilities Responsibility is a corollary of power Biotechnology Brings new powers to humanity Those powers should remind us of our responsibilities to nature and the environment, to all of life, to the future, and to human nature and personhood

To make the right ethical decisions

requires supreme wisdom

Who have it ?

Future discussion
Make the coming generations stakeholders in our

ethical analysis.
Consideration of transgenerational consequences may

impose limits on what we do now in the interest of those who come after us
Minimally, we should not knowingly inflict harm

Reference
Margaret R.McLean. A Framework for Thinking

Ethically About Human Biotechnology ,

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/mclean/biot echframework.html

Donal P.OMathuna. Bioethics and biotechnology.

Cytotechnology (2007) 53 : 113 119 Latifah Amin et.al. Islamic ethics and modern biotechnology. SARI, Int.J.of Malay world and civilization (2009) 27.2, 285 - 296