Does the genome project take imitatio dei too far–beyond imitating God, to playing God?
• var addthis_pub=”mjl08″;var addthis_options = ‘favorites, digg, delicious, myspace, google, facebook, reddit, live, more’; The U.S. Human Genome Project was initiated in 1990 by the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health, with the aim of identifying the 30,000 genes in human DNA. Several maps of the human genome have already been completed. This research can be used in developing therapies to treat or cure genetic diseases. Though the author of this article endorses the project, and few thinkers question the potential therapeutic benefits of it, others are more skeptical. People like Richard Greenberg worry that society will overstate the significance of genetics and submit to a belief in genetic determinism in which one cannot be held responsible for ones own actions. Greenberg suggests that this would contradict Judaism’s belief in free will. Others, like Yitzchok Adlerstein, worry about the moral ramifications of moving procreation from the home to the laborato
