The Translational Genomics Research Institute (T-Gen), located in Phoenix, Arizo

Question

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (T-Gen), located in Phoenix, Arizona, has developed a procedure using genetic testing to identify the underlying biological defects associated with specific diseases. In some cases they are able to force rare cancers into remission and reverse the course of disease. This treatment is available to anyone but is not covered by most insurance policies.

Who in our society benefits from this medical advancement? Should the general public be made aware of this option? What implications regarding personal, cultural, or societal values does this medical advancement introduce?

Explanation / Answer

Who in our society benefits from this medical advancement?

Answer:

Only the sick people who has the money to pay, and it means hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions of dollars.

Should the general public be made aware of this option?

Answer:

A medical advancement like this should be made available to everyone who needs it. Ammnesty International recalls that healthcare is a human right, istead of a commodity, therefore, it is a public good. Three principles come into play when healthcare issues arrive:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed on march 23, 2010, by president Barack Obama. Non the less, protests and opposition agasint this Act has been arised because of its "market driven U.S. health system", according to the NESRI (National Economic and Social Richs Initiative). This act, according to this organization, does not see healthcare as a public good, but as a commodity, which is a wrong vision of something that is a human right.

The fact of having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to save someone's life, and not having that money available for the fact of guaranteeing this human right, makes the government responsible before its people for not doing what it takes to ensure this coverage, and it then becomes an unnecessary death of a citizen, because he/she did not get the right treatment, while the scientific and technological means where always there to save his/her life. It makes no sense to have a system that does not grants this human right to people, and reforms are to be made to ensure this.

What implications regarding personal, cultural, or societal values does this medical advancement introduce?

Answer:

This advancement is something that is very positive, because many human lives could be saved from ancer. Of course, the fact that a cancer can be driven into remission, so as to reverse the course of this desease, makes a breakthough in science. It is nontheless, worthless if society in general is unable to access this great scientific breakthrough because of ecoonomic barriers, and as I stated before, a human right would not even be granted to people, and this is totally a non sense for a government who is to protect human rights, like the american. Social implications in that regard are to take place, in fact, people would feel more confident in science for such an achievement, and at the same time, if economic barriers are posed in between, people would feel very dissapointed at the system, government, and therefore, the very healthcare system, with a good reason, because if a human right to healthcare and life is not granted, no matter if the means are there to do so, then this disparity would create heavy struggling forces to demand this scientific advancement to be available to everyone who needs it, such situation would build up a strong pressure on politicians and law makers, who could not just turn their backs on it but face it, and serious law changes would take place as a consequence, so as to favor human rights, healthcare in this case.

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