Reflections: ethics and the recombinant DNA debate

This essay is an attempt to apply a mode of ethical reflection to questions related to the recombinant DNA debate. The author suggests that adequate ethical analysis must include at least five aspects of a moral situation 1) the nature of the act itself; 2) consequences that result from an action or decision; 3) civil and criminal laws; 4) moral principles; and 5) motivation or intention. This paradigm for analysis is applied to the recombinant DNA scene, particularly as these factors relate to 1) risks vs benefits; 2) laws and regulations; 3) the marketplace; and 4) human genetic intervention. The analysis does not provide answers to these vexing questions, but attempts to raise the consciousness level of the reader concerning significant ethical issues. Undergirding the discussion is the humanistic theme of the primacy of the concern for the public good, and that freedom of inquiry can only survive in a socially conscious context. Fear of the unknown is no reason for prohibiting DNA research, but since the stakes are high as new developments emerge that pertain to the genetic restructuring of the human species, the author suggests that caution and responsible judgment are mandatory. Since ethics is concerned with ideal moral judgments, and applied ethics relates to the real world in which we function, the demand for clear and careful thought concerning the short-term and long-term consequences of our work is a primary ingredient of what it means to be responsible. In the final analysis, ethical responsibility rests on the individual; without a sense of personal integrity and what that implies about oneself and society, blatant opportunism can easily become the generally accepted mode of behavior and decision. If this occurs, traditional ethical concerns become irrelevant.