Huntington's Disease Article Summary

The articles “Huntington’s Disease”, from NYTimes.com, “The DNA Age”, by Amy Harmon, and “Fearing Punishment for Bad Genes”, by Kira Peikoff, define the characteristics and symptoms of Huntington’s disease, and also demonstrate the positive and negative results for receiving genetic testing. The article “The DNA Age” focuses more on Pathos, or the emotional side of the argument, and therefore was more interesting and heart-wrenching than the other two. “Huntington’s Disease” and “Fearing Punishment for Bad Genes” focus more on Logos, or the logical side of the debate. The first article focuses primarily on statistics, and the third focuses on the consequences of receiving genetic testing. The articles create a feeling of sympathy for those affected with genetic diseases, as they demonstrate how difficult their lives are. There are many positives for receiving genetic testing when one …show more content…
The primary reason is that it costs a lot of money, typically around a thousand dollars, to receive the tests. This is an expense that many people cannot incur, particularly when there is only a chance of them having the disorder. If one finds that they do have a genetic disorder, health insurance companies are able to deny or raise the price of that individual’s insurance. In the article “Fearing Punishment for Bad Genes”, Brian S. states that “many are concerned about the possibility of paying higher premiums or being denied coverage altogether because of the known existence of a dangerous mutation” (Fearing Punishment).Many would also prefer to remain ignorant of their results, and hope that they do not have the disease, instead of facing the truth. In relation to many diseases, including Huntington’s disease, there is no medicine or treatment that can cure the individual. Therefore, many people rationalize not confronting their