It is difficult to formulate accurate ideas without knowledge about the topic, so first I will provide a little background information on genetic screening. I will then point out some of the areas of controversy associated with genetic screening, and finally I will discuss my view on the topic. Genetic screening can be used to refer to any activity that locates or advises people about genetically connected diseases. Currently with the advances being made by the Human Genome project we are achieving a much more detailed understanding of the relationship between specific genes and diseases. With all of the new information about our genes, the ability to develop tests to screen for these genes is becoming possible for a much larger number of diseases.
Many more tests are well on the way to being developed.
With the possibility of testing for numerous diseases we are going to be able to gain an increasingly vast amount of knowledge about ourselves. In some ways genetic screening will become similar to a fortuneteller - a scientific fortuneteller. This new information will have some obvious benefits. We will now be able to predict if we will be susceptible to a certain disease and consequently take more preventative measures against that disease. Treatment for some genetic diseases may also become available and we will be able to treat that disease.