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of defense and healing. Genes protect the body, repair damage, and restore it to health. There are two types of gene therapy:
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Somatic Cell Gene Therapy: Implied solely for treatment of diseases like sickle - Cell anemia, hemophilia and Gaucher's disease caused by a defect in a single gene. Somatic Cell Engineering: Used solely for a possible enhancement rather than treatment like increasing the height or make people brainier.
Jain bioethics will welcome such progress towards setting the stage for:
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A new era of preventive medicines New insights to treat patient as a person, having a unique genetic profile Affirm belief in Puruşārtha (activity in control of destiny)
Jainism believes in preserving health of physical and mental body in order to pursue spiritual progress while keeping the principal of non violence in the fore front, especially considering unnecessary experiments on animals and humans, but if these techniques are utilized for the betterment of the humanity as a whole and not solely for purpose of financial gain, Jainism will accept it.
Jainism will definitely oppose enhancement gene treatment for betterment of vanity rather than values, as enhancement gene treatment could become an exclusive right of the rich. Somatic cell enhancement engineering threatens human values especially at our present understanding of such technology is limited and we yet have a limited understanding specially in understanding the passes of thoughts, reasoning, logic and consciousness.
4.6 The Ethics of Cloning On July 5th, 1996 Scottish scientist Ian Willmut cloned a sheep named Dolly, he explained that he had replaced the genetic material of a sheep's egg with the DNA from an adult sheep and created a lamb that is a clone of the adult. He wanted to create new animals for medical research, and has demised the idea of cloning humans.
Yanagimachi of the University of Hawaii and his team was able to make more than 50 copies of a mouse. Therefore we can see that the technology of somatic cloning is here.
Jains perceive the body of a living being consisting of:
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STUDY NOTES version 5.0
