Eugenics Could Become a Reality

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.

The remarkable advancements in technology and the exceptional discoveries in science has brought this generation one step closer to unlocking the secret to the modification of embryos to our own wishes. Designer babies allow society to customize offspring that hold certain, desirable traits through the process of genetic engineering during in vitro fertilization. Although scientists have possibly found a way to genetically modify the genes of a human embryo, it has become clear to me that I disagree with the process of engineering a child as people will use it only for appearances, be misused that’ll lead to a form of abortion, and create a gap within society.

Therefore, the main concern for future and current parents is the safety and health of their children. With the development of genetic enhancement, parents are able to transform their embryos into designer babies as a result. Through the creation of designer babies, it could prevent babies from inheriting undesirable traits that would result in diseases or mutations that may reduce their quality of life. “The majority of designer babies are created with the aim to prevent the inheritance of genetic defects through the selection of ‘disease-free’ embryos by preimplantation genetic diagnosis” to avoid life-shortening diseases (Pang and Ho, 2016, p. 59). Therefore, with this technology parents do not have to worry about their child suffering from diseases and disabilities that may decrease their quality of life or shorten it. No parents want their child to suffer and die before them, so designer babies are a solution to help alleviate that concern. In addition, besides preventing hereditary diseases, the technology will result in a new generation of healthier babies. Besides removing defective genes, genes can also be modified for babies to become fitter and more improved, which will increase their likelihood of future success when they grow up. Moreover, designing babies is not only helping to prevent certain hereditary diseases, it also reduces the financial and emotional burdens on the parents (Verlinsky, 2005). Having a disability or illness may cost a significant amount of money because of continuous medications and treatment. With that, there is the probability that the child may never be cured or may die. Worrying about the health of the child can cause an emotional toll on the parents. All parents want the best for their children as it is their duty to care for their child to the best of their capabilities. “As of today, these techniques are used only by parents who need the assistance

There has been a debate about whether to use genetic engineering to create “designer babies.” Some people believe that these could be used to rid the human species of genetic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's, and some kinds of cancer. Others believe that designer babies could lead to a new kind of classism. I believe that we should not use genetic engineering to create “designer babies” because Crispr, the method used for genetic engineering, has not yet been refined enough to be used safely in humans, and the babies being modified don’t have a say in the matter.

Imagine you and your significant other walking into a doctor’s office, and choosing through a books of various traits, physical and non-physical for your new baby to have. These traits would be examples such as hair color, eye color, height of your child, muscles or no muscles, intelligent or average IQ, disease free, etc. Daily technology advancements in the field of genetics make it possible for parents to select characteristics like these. How far will we advance technology just to help humans design babies? The debates rages between the moral and ethical limits, how safe the new technology is, and the required limits on what to allow enhancements upon.

In 2004 the term “Genetic Babies” made it from sci-fi movies and weblogs to the Oxford dictionary which reflects the term becoming part of our everyday culture. The process can change genes, traits and defect particular defects, and ensure a healthy start to a child’s life. The forever growing strength of genetic technology may one day allow parents to adapt their unborn children, in order to spare their descendants from disease or, conceivably, make them tall, well-muscled, intellectual or otherwise gifted with appealing traits. However along with any new medical, high-tech treatment there is bounteous amounts of advantages and disadvantages that follow. Are the technologies of genetic modification safe

(Introduction) Imagine that children were genetically engineered to accustom parent’s exact desires of both physical and mental characteristics. Would parents choose physical traits such as blonde hair and green eyes, or choose mental traits such as athleticism and intelligence? Scientists are now able to genetically engineer a human embryo to the traits that a parent desires. Designer babies are usually seen as beneficial due to the eliminating chances of genetics diseases, however, they are also seen as playing God in the eyes of some. How are human embryos genetically engineered to fit the desires of parents, and what are the controversies behind it?

The birth of a baby. One of the most pure, innocent and natural events in life. The excitement of gender. Is it a boy? Girl? Does it matter? Most parents will treasure their creation no matter their appearance or abilities. However for some people, the knowledge that their offspring is a product of them is not enough. With advances in genetic research, technology is now being developed that could allow specific genes to be selected to create a child with desired traits. Genetically modified embryos are being branded “Designer Babies,” but are these modifications safe to humanity or are we tampering with the moral guidelines?

Genetic enhancements have been an interesting topic of discussion between people who think it is ethically permissible and others, who think it is morally wrong. One of the most discussed arguments states that it is morally wrong for parents to genetically enhance their child because it takes away the great value of a yet unborn child life. In order to prove it is true, it is useful to explore some facts that serve as an evidence for the argument 's conclusion. Let 's start from thinking of the person 's life as a general concept. Life is something that is given to every single one of us as a natural gift. It does belong only to that particular individual. So, life is a "natural" property that each human has that prevents others making decisions for someone else. For example, if I own a car, it is considered my property. Since it is my vehicle, I would not want anyone else make decisions about it, like driving it somewhere, changing its color or selling it. Another concept that is very important to understand is that human 's life has a certain significance. Person 's life gains importance when an individual achieves something like knowledge, or if he/she gains a new skill, e.g. learning how to play a piano. Majority of such accomplishments are the result of a hard work and time investment. According to Charlotte Buhler, the person 's life goals and values remain in development during the first 20-25 years of life (Buhler, 405). So, this period in human 's life is the most

According to BBC News, the discussion about genetically engineering embryos should begin. With the increased technology that has been introduced in the past couple of years, changing a fetus’s genes and creating “designer babies” could become a possibility for parents (Gallagher 1). When these breakthroughs were published, there was an immediate uproar about whether changing one’s baby’s genes is ethical. The events that have led to this technology, and the technology itself, are intriguing to many genetic scientists around the world.

Genetically modifying children is a new concept and a possible actuality that can happen in the future. While research progresses to make genetic modification a reality many up and coming parents think about the possibility to genetically modify their child to create a greater overall human. Although creating a more improved human has benefits such as greater increased resistant to diseases and medical conditions genetic modification, it will cause an issue even larger which is a societal gap.

Because scientists would understand more about how human DNA works, they would be better able to cure disease and prevent birth defects. Finally, in an article by Cecile Janssens, a Research Professor a Emory University, it states that ¨CRISPR could take a step further to enhance babies¨ (Janssens). Genetically engineering could improve babies, not only by

There are many advantages of genetically engineering human babies. One of the main positive effects is that it can cure diseases and illnesses before the babies is even born. This includes diseases such as down syndrome, Alzheimer's which affects your memory and can develop as young as 40 years old, Huntington's diseases, a ‘incurable’ diseases that alters the way people think and their behaviour. There is a 50% chance

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.

Many people in our lives die from hereditary diseases and our genetic makeup is almost completely responsible for the traits we are born with and unfortunately stuck with. However the genes and genetic predispositions responsible for these common and rare hereditary diseases have been identified, which allows diagnosis of these diseases in prenatal stages. What if we as humans could choose to improve ourselves and our offspring by a series of genetic testing and germline gene therapy to produce a genetically strong, fit, and perfectly healthy offspring? Would our ancestors, if given the opportunity, choose to design the perfect descendants that would be idealized human assets? I believe that given the opportunity as humans we should have the option to create and enhance our new and stronger genetic line for our offspring as a way to improve the human design. In many cases such as The Human Genome Project led by James Watson, a pioneer in genetics, initially started out as searching for cures to genetic ailments, but like many experiments it became less focused on cures and was driven more towards enhancements. In this essay I will be discussing the positive and negative outcomes of genetic engineering, explaining the moral factors, and the possible consequences that will affect both “naturally born” humans and genetically manipulated humans socially.