The science continues to outstrip the ability of Western societies to fit the new capabilities with the philosophical and political expectations of their people and institutions. Many of the basic social and ethical issues raised at the outset remain.
Legislative guidelines favored by most to provide basic protections of individual privacy and against genetic discrimination of various sorts are being established in many nations. The moral and ethical questions remain particularly divisive in the United States, reflecting the deep philosophical differences on many issues that polarize this nation.
Over the past six years, the nucleotide sequence of the entire human genome was determined; a furor over reproductive cloning sparked by the cloning of Dolly, a Finn Dorset lamb, crested and then subsided; and a new ethical controversy emerged and is still
growing—over the use of embryonic stem cells in regenerative medicine. The first generation of genetically modified crops is now established in world agriculture, and a second generation is in development that promises new questions about the role of agribusiness versus the traditional farmer. We are now able to assess the worldwide impact of early policies regulating genetically modified crops and reproductive cloning. Previously, there were no data, only sheer confidence—or fear. DNA testing, controversial at the O. J. Simpson trial, is now the gold standard for identifying individuals, and anthrax-laced envelopes revealed our vulnerability to bioterrorism.