Genetic Differences Affecting Our Children

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a form of genetic testing. It is similar to the screening of abnormal chromosome count only used to test for genetic diseases. The fertility institutes have used this to take gender selection to the next level. Stating that this has a greater than 99,9% success rate.

o If so, is PGD ethical in all cases? (prevent miscarriages, prevent inheritable genetic diseases, sex selection for social reasons, etc).

A new epidemic in human reproduction is slowly sweeping the earth, and it is known as human gene alteration. It gives parents the ability to decide their babies' sex, hair color, or even eye color. Creating these so called "designer babies" seems like the perfect way to have the child you have always dreamed of. But is this a moral way to go about reproduction? Is it fair to these children to mess with their genes just for your own satisfaction of having the perfect baby? Gene alteration can also be used in other more beneficial ways. One being to prevent and weed out disease that effects an unborn child. Gene alteration can be very beneficial, but only if used in the right way such as

Firstly, being able to detect genetic disorders, such as Down Syndrome, could result in the parents aborting the fetus. Margaret Somerville said in Choosing The Perfect Child,"In short, the new genetics is functioning as eugenics, but that fact is not identified. Decisions by individuals based on preimplantation genetic diagnosis of IVF embryos, or prenatal screening of foetuses mean we will eliminate certain groups of people, for example, Down's Syndrome children, from our society. In short, an outcome that would never be acceptable as public policy is being implemented through the accumulation of individual choices”(actionlife.org). To abort a child because of their genes are incorrect and need extra assistance with daily chores is selfish and inhuman. Not to mention, if a family had PGD on their child and received a false positive result, the unborn child could very well be killed needlessly. Then secondly, if all PGD got rid of all genetically transferred diseases, it could affect the world’s population. Since more lives would be saved, the world’s population would increase at an alarming rate. It would cause the the world’s resources dwindle down extensively and make the resources very

With all the freedom in America, is it fair to design a child? “A baby developing from an embryo created by in-vitro fertilization and selected because it had or lacked particular genes, the genetic makeup often having been notified by genetic engineering” (Dictionary,com), If this were to become popular the world would lack racial diversity and there could be genetic consequences.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a procedure used to identify genetic faults in embryos created with In-Vitro Fertilization. In the movie, GATTACA, PGD is the social standard. I disagree with the widespread use of PGD.

Doctors will be able to obtain more precise test results… Rather than knowing an embryo is just plain positive for a disease, doctors would be able to predict the severity and the possibility of preventing or treating the disease. Other concerns, such as eugenics, insurance companies, fear of the unknown, effects on genetic diversity, and deciding who should be offered these genetic determining tests can all be brought under control”. (Heath.M, 1996) As it said in the quote, this technology can be developed to be even better so that it will be very precise. “PGD can test for more than 100 different genetic conditions.” (n.p, 2012) This would give an almost perfect guarantee that the child would be disease

Although there are positive things that come from the use of genetic engineering, there are also cons associated with genetically modifying your baby. The first one is that the technology is not 100% safe yet and the process is still being experimented on. This also means that if it is not done properly and carefully, the embryo could be terminated. It is also unknown yet if modifying the babies could affect family trees and if they may or may not have problems later on in life.

“For years, reproductive specialists have been helping people become parents, even enabling them to choose the sex of their baby. One fertility doctor is taking things a step further, offering what some are calling ‘designer babies,’ as Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman reports” (CBS News). Though designer babies are not yet feasible, choosing the gender of the baby is. This is possible through in-vitro fertilization, a process in which an egg is retrieved from a mother and sperm is donated by a father, then combined together in a lab to make a fertilized egg. During this process, it is possible for the parents to allow the egg to go through Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis. PGD is when embryologists remove a cell from the

This procedure doesn’t sit well with many people, because it appears as if parents are using their newborn as a means to an end. In this case the savior sibling is brought into the world to be used as an instrument in order to cure another child3. Supporters of using PGD to gain a savior sibling, reject the statement that savior siblings are being used instrumentally. They say since parents are putting in such efforts to save a dying child it makes it unlikely that they will be unfit parents to the savior sibling. Furthermore, they say majority of parents have children for a broader instrumental reason such as: benefits to the marriage, continuing the family name, economic/psychological benefits to the parents etc3. As a result, most parents have some reason or expectation when they decide to have children, instrumentalizes them to a degree as

A positive biological implication of PGD is if they seem to remove the allele from the DNA of the embryo, then the allele will not be present in the generations following.

Pre implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a specific genetic technology used to select embryos before implantation. PGD is a screening test used to detect whether genetic or chromosomal disorders are present within the embryos produced through in vitro fertilization (IVF). The embryos are screened before they are transferred to the uterus to enable the couples to make informed decisions about the embryo being implanted during the IVF process. Embryos that haven’t been affected by the genetic or chromosomal disorder can be selected to implant into the uterus

Being able to choose the gender of a baby will give the couple more time to prepare for the baby’s arrival because if the gender is known well in advance there's more time to get everything ready. I also believe that it is good for parents to be happy with the child being the gender they desire because the child will more likely fit into the family’s dreams. I don’t see why a couple should be deprived of an option that will increase their happiness and the well-being of their child. PGD can help subside the use of illegal means of gender selection. In some countries selection already happens, usually by selective abortion or abandonment of unwanted babies. This is a terrible waste of life and is very dangerous to the mother. The use of new technologies to allow gender selection at the beginning of pregnancy will hopefully reduce selective

What is more wonderful than a birth of a baby? Human genetics is tremendously increasing each day. Scientists have figured out which genes causes what diseases and where at in the embryos. Vitro fertilization also refers to IVF, is a medical procedure which allows selected embryos that don’t have diseases into a petri dish. Prior to IVF, is when Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis also known as PGD, occurs. This is where the doctors will identify which embryos are healthy so no diseases will be passed onto the child and the baby will then be born healthy. PGD and IVF is being used to implant healthy embryos into the mother to conceive a baby to save the parents sick child known as a savior sibling. A savior sibling is a child whose only purpose of being conceived is to provide an organ or a cell transplant to a sibling that is affected with a fatal disease. With the help of Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, sick children have the possibility of being cured by their brother or sister.

It can also be used to test for Tay-Sachs Disease, Fragile-X Mental Retardation, Cystic Fibrosis, Down Syndrome and Spinal Muscular Atrophy. In the past couples who wanted to have childr en, and were carriers of inherited diseases, worried about the possibility of their children inheriting the disease. Parents will no longer have this worry. In 1989, an English couple became the first to use PGD [Grady,1995]. It was used because they were at risk of passing along a form of severe mental retardation. Because it only affected sons, PGD was used to ensure that the couple had a daughter.