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The Physiological Implications

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The Physiological Implications
The Physiological Implications

A. Genetic Engineering

Health risks of genetic engineering have sometimes been described in exaggerated, alarmist terms, implying that foods made from Genetically Engineered crops are inherently unsafe. It is also an exaggeration, however, to state that there are no health risks associated with GE. For one thing, not enough is known: research on the effects of specific genes has been limited—and tightly controlled by the industry.

But we do know of ways in which genetically engineered crops could cause health problems. For instance, genes from an allergenic plant could transfer this unwanted trait to the target plant. This phenomenon was documented in 1996, as soybeans with a Brazil nut gene—added to improve their value as animal feed—produced an allergic response in test subjects with Brazil nut allergies.

B. Surrogate Mother

It has been suggested that relinquishing the child may be extremely distressing and may result in psychological problems for surrogate mothers. It has also been feared that the surrogate mother may prenatally form a bond with the baby that would make it particularly difficult for her to hand over the child to the commissioning parents. For those women who do relinquish the child, the risk of post-natal depression, as well as feelings of anger or guilt, may add further strain to the woman's psychological health. Such that woman may enter into surrogacy arrangements because of financial hardship without being fully aware of its potential risks.

Other concerns relating to surrogacy include the impact on the surrogate mother's partner, her parents or any existing children, and its destabilizing effects on her family integrity.

C. Cloning

When we hear of cloning successes, we learn about only the few attempts that worked. What we don't see are the many cloning experiments that failed. Even in the successful clones, problems tend to arise later, during the animal's development to adulthood. Cloning animals

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