Designer Babies : Children Made Up Order

Imagine a world where having a baby was like looking through a menu at some fancy restaurant. Imagine being able to choose how a baby will look and act. As mind-boggling as it sounds, scientists and researchers came across an unbelievable discovery: it is possible to design and edit a baby however a person may like. Hanson asserts that personality, gender, appearance, intelligence, hair color, and height can be changed using technology that was originally used for animals (Hanson). These babies are called designer babies. Phillip Ball, a science writer, claims that it is possible to change the genetic makeup of an unborn baby using bio-technology. However, these changes can have more negative effects than positive. Although most countries have not legislated the use of genetic modification, studies have been done on human embryos in China (Ball).

For many people, the term “designer babies” sounds like something that could only exist in the novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. But, science has now advanced to the point where faulty genes can now be singled out, discarded, and replaced with more favorable ones. Just like the 16,012 babies manufactured in the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre in Brave New World, human embryos can be selected for fertilization based on their genes. This is done through the processes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This involves removing mature egg cells from a woman and fertilizing it with male sperm outside of the body. The embryos are then analyzed for abnormalities and mutations in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The healthiest embryos are then implanted back into the woman’s uterus for regular gestation (Yount). The development of these techniques originated from the Human Genome Project initiated by the United States government in 1988 (Siegel-Itzkovich). Although established initially with the purpose of selecting healthy embryos free of disease, the same techniques can be applied to select genes that code for traits such as intelligence, strength, and beauty. IVF and PGD are useful techniques but should only be used for medical purposes, not for selecting the embryos of perfect children.

What if there was a future where having a child was as simple as selecting desirable genes out of a catalogue? A future where technology granted parents the ability to design and perfect their children. The notion of “Designer Babies” seems absurd; however the rapid development of technology and the potential of gene manipulation could make this a startling reality.

The escalating supremacy and receptiveness of genetic technology to engineer and "design babies," now gives parents the option to modify their unborn children, consecutively to prevent their offspring's from receiving genetic disorders such as: "sickle cell diseases, cystic fibrosis and down syndrome ," or conceivably, make them blue eye coloured, intelligent or else blessed with enviable qualities. Would this mean there will be an increase in the superiority among the rich, both physically and mentally, or will this modification be available for all to exploit, or would we be evidencing engineered babies facing unexpected genetic predicament? The highly contentious issue of designing unborn children to be a perfect "epitome" is thoroughly investigated and examined in the article of, lead author of

Science and technology are always pushing forward and leading us to new discoveries, dramatically altering life as we know it. One of the newest discoveries is the genetic enhancement of infants, also known as designer babies or germline enhancement. Scientists take the human embryo and enhance its genetic makeup to ensure a particular gene is present or to remove the gene altogether. The manipulation of the unborn child’s genes will pose unknown risks and will be done without their consent. The controversy of this deception will further destabilize society and its unity. The genetic enhancement of infants should be opposed because it is unethical and dangerous to civilians and society.

Even though there are several advantages of designer babies, this technology also brings some negative consequences for humans at the same time. First of all, the safety concerns, much like we saw with early recombinant DNA research include both potential dangers to the offspring of patients treated and to the environment(Shapiro). As this technology has not developed completely, it may cause the termination of women’s embryos and damage gene pool(Designer babies). Second, for the moral concerns, children whose genes are modified may live in a priority group, which could create a social gap or inequality in society. Based on the differences in abilities and intelligence, opportunities will spread unevenly. Furthermore, designer babies may result in gender unbalance and increase gender inequality because some parents hold desires of having a child of a particular sex. According to some statistics, the male to female ratio is already nearly 1.2 in China and some parts of India. In 1990, there were 100 million women “missing” as a result of various forms of discrimination(Savulescu). Moreover, the creation of designer babies allow the gaps of economic status to increase. Since the process of designer babies requires developed

Technology has had a huge affect on us humans in how we live our lives starting from anywhere between how we come up or find information to how we have the ability to travel the world. Technology seems to slowly be used for more and more lately, It’s important for us as humans not to overuse or abuse the technology we were given because it may have a negative effect on society and the lives of our loved ones. We have come across a new system of genetic engineering known as “Designer Babies” which genetically modifies DNA to set a goal of creating enhanced traits for the babies to grow up with. What people need to understand is that this expensive process can ultimately change their life. What may seem beneficial

For many years, the idea of being able to design and choose your children has long been a topic of science fiction. But rapid progress in genetics is making the idea of ‘designer children’ possible. A designer child is a baby whose genetic make-up has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present. This can be used to improve the health of the baby, or enhancing particular genes to make the child achieve better in a particular area. These babies are also described as genetically modified, where the child contains genetic material that has been artificially altered so as to produce a desired characteristic. Despite the seemingly beneficial results, there are many negative as well as positive aspects to this new technique.

“A baby whose genetic makeup has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present”; the definition of a designer baby is a simple one. A child who, through science and engineering, is given traits desired by it’s parents to resemble their view of a healthier, better baby. Whether that is to treat a mutation in the child’s DNA that could result in Down’s Syndrome or changing the baby’s eye color from brown to blue, science has made it not only conceivable but a very likely possibility, for fully designed babies to be waddling down the street within the century. Though the term “designer baby” is not one recognized by scientists, many journalists across the world have coined the term to explain the quite terrifying potential reality that lies ahead for humanity. Currently, only two types of advanced reproductive techniques can be conducted on humans. One, analyzes the sperm to determine the sex and genes of the baby, and the second screens for various genetic deformities that may occur before birth, thus allowing people to only fertilize healthy embryos.

The scientists that are starting to create these designer babies are using special ways to do so. They use in vitro fertilization, or IVF, to invent these designer children. During the process of producing the babies, the eggs are fertilized by sperm in a petri dish, which are then transferred into the woman’s uterus. The scientists finally look at multiple embryos to see which one has that “designer” characteristic. If the embryo meets the qualifications it is kept, if it doesn’t it is thrown out. This means that the flawed embryos, who would’ve had long-fulfilled lives, are killed and don’t have a chance.

The purpose of this essay is to look at the Bioethics in relation to “Designer Babies” as dubbed by the media. Bioethics is the study of the ethical and moral implications of new biological discoveries and biomedical advances in this scenario to do with embryo modifications. A designer baby is a dream to some people and a nightmare to others. This is a difficult topic and this essay hopes to bring a balanced view on both sides that there are definite benefits and needs, however they need to be countered with oversight to prevent misuse of new reproductive technologies.

“Designer babies” is an informal term that refers to genetically engineered babies, modified for desirable looks, talents or to eradicate hereditary diseases. This is achieved via Pre-Implantation-Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), where procedures are done on the embryo before being implanted inside the womb through IVF.Though the technology has been around a long time, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the topic, “partly on ethical grounds”. But is it that bad?

The idea of designer babies has been present in science fiction literature and films for decades. From Huxley’s novel Brave New World, in which babies are grown in vats and there is no such thing as family, to the 1997 film Gattaca, in which children who are genetically engineered are considered superior and a person’s value is based entirely on their DNA (Molina, 2016).

Scientists today are developing ways to edit the DNA of human embryos. Although people think the positives out shine the negatives when enhancing an embryos health chances, that is not always the case socially when the child is born. Parents create this picture in their mind of the perfect child that they want when they find out they are pregnant, this child most often times has eyes as blue as the sky, blonde hair like sand at the beach, and a smile that lights up the world like the sun. A dad wants a son to play football, but the son wants to do theatre; a mom wants a daughter who does pageants, but the daughter wants to be a boxer. When these details start developing in a couples ' mind they can get selfish. Parents can develop a child to have the characteristics they want them to have; however, that does not mean that is who the child will be. The children in these cases do not have a say in what they should have, they are not even created yet. Parents can be eager and obsessed with a child who has the best features and capability to do whatever it is the parents wants them to do. The spread of what citizens are calling "designer babies" should have limits to what guardians can choose to improve health chances is a right choice but enhancing all a child 's characteristics is all wrong.

How does it sound to walk into the doctor’s office, choose what attributes you want your baby to have, and then having that exact baby 9 months later? Although this may seem quite harmless to most, the negative effects of designer babies are tremendous: the lack of diversity in our population, violation of a specific set of laws designed to protect humans, going against Christian views, and even destroying the roots of human nature. With genetic engineering biotechnology, such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (or CRISPR), new and unique altercations are being done to revolutionize many aspects of our lives. Along with astounding benefits that can come from these biotechnologies, many people have come up with crazy ideas, such as these designer baby ideas, that could be potentially harmful to our society.