Genetically Designer Babies

A designer baby is the word used to describe the act of genetically modifying the genes of babies. They can also screen embryos for any disorders and could even been uses for modification of characteristics such as gender eye colour and even intelligence. Advanced technologies have allowed doctors to be able to screen embryos for any genetic disorders to enable them to select healthy embryos.

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).

The process of designing your own baby would be very expensive, which would prevent everybody except the extremely wealthy to be able to take advantage of this technology. Even relatively routine procedures like in-vitro fertilization (IVF) can cost up to $20,000 according to IVF Canada, with PGD adding an additional $10,000 to that total. Since the able to afford this practice are of the elite class, thus their customized babies would have have superior advantage over people like me and you from the second they are born because not only do they belong to a wealthy family, but they also are designed to be more mentally and physically “fit”. I am not alone in this belief, Silver Lee in his book “Remaking Eden” describes the destructive effects a class structure of genetic haves and have nots could have. Having children that are more equipped for life than those who belong to lower classes creates new class system between the genetically enhanced and the not genetically enhanced which would tear open the rich-poor gap that already exists in

I think this is wrong because it’s almost as if they are trying to play the role of God. If everyone were to genetically alter their child, then the “normal children” would be left behind as far as intelligence. Another thing is that only the rich can afford. Designer babies cost a good bit of money. It generally can cost around 3, 4, or even 10 thousand dollars. Another bad thing with designer babies is that sometimes they are used as “spare parts”. Some of these children were born to use as extra or spare parts. It almost reminds you of a Savior

Picture a young couple in a waiting room looking through a catalogue together. This catalogue is a little different from what you might expect. In this catalogue, specific traits for babies are being sold to couples to help them create the "perfect baby." This may seem like a bizarre scenario, but it may not be too far off in the future. Designing babies using genetic enhancement is an issue that is gaining more and more attention in the news. This controversial issue, once thought to be only possible in the realm of science-fiction, is causing people to discuss the moral issues surrounding genetic enhancement and germ line engineering. Though genetic research can prove beneficial to learning how to prevent hereditary

Although this may be the case in many areas of people’s lives today, it is not always beneficial, or necessary. People may have trouble deciding whether messing with human genes and cells is ethical. Designing the “perfect child” in many parent’s eyes becomes a harsh question of reality. The concept of a parent’s unconditional love for their child is questioned because of the desire to make their child perfect. If genetically engineering humans becomes a dominant medical option, people could have the chance to create their child however they like: from physical appearances, genetically enhanced genes, and the possibility to decide what a child thinks and acts, parents have access to designing their entire child. Naturally, people could be creating a super-human. Issues between different races, and eventually creating new prejudices against genetically engineered humans may increase. People may not realize how expensive genetic screening is at first. With only the rich being able to “enhance” their children, another social issue might occur, giving the world another type of people to outcast.

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.

Genes are a complex part of human life, and make each of us different and special. But what if there was a choice where you could genetically alter your child, making them disease free and astonishing athletes? It sounds almost too good to be true, to have your very own designer baby. For the good of human species, we should be allowed to alter human genetics. With all these amazing abilities and unlimited changes we could make to our children, it would be like shopping for clothes at a mall. This may sound like a dream come true, but it can lead to many problems in the near future. Trying to change human genes takes away each person's own individuality, and could cause people to segregate the people who were not genetically altered. Even if it can make beautiful, healthy children, it has too many problems than benefits to actually be any good for humans.

Have you ever asked yourself is it possible to pick and choose your kids characteristics and appearance? If you ever have thought about this topic it is called designer babies and the technology used to do this is called CRISPR. In 2015 scientists in China tried to modify human embryos so that they could edit the genes of the embryos.(OI) This test failed horribly with all 86 of the embryos dying.(OI) Many people hope that one day designer babies will be a thing. I disagree with genetically modifying humans because in the bible it states, “God made you perfectly in his own image.”

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

Many scientists agree that this discovery shouldn't be taken lightly and stupidly. Designing should only go as far as helping with diseases. As technology becomes more advanced in this field, it will become more common and eventually not become as rare. Babies being changed to fit beauty standards isn't relevant to the important things happening. This is something that needs to be argued by every point of view to completely grasp the severity of the topic. "It would also be useful in circumstances when all embryos would carry the undesirable, risky genes." (Gallagher) Which means messing with the embryos and experimenting would help terminate diseases. Designing babies is heavily arguable and heavily questionable about whether it's ethical or not.

Science is now able to better improve human health and safety thanks to the advanced modern technology and medicine that are available. Yet with today's technology being implemented into science comes the questions of human morality, or bioethics. One of the bioethics debates is on the coined term “Designer babies”; on if or where society should draw the line on genetically altering our children before they are born. With the technology able to stop hereditary diseases, the scientific development’s are able to change the child’s “eye color, hair color, social intelligence, right down to whether or not your child would have a widow’s peak” before the child is born. From the options on choosing whether or not your child will look or act a certain

People have the right to genetically engineer their children so it should not be banned. Jeffrey Kahn, a bioethicist, says that parents will someday test genes to give their children preferable traits like intelligence,strong immune systems, and string muscles. These are desirable by many people, so its wrong to ban these tests. Many people want a child of a specific gender as well. In fact, gender clinics say that more than 90% of couples after gender selection already have three or more children all of the same gender and want at least one of the opposite gender. Is it wrong for couples to want a child of a specific gender? Also, children with certain blood diseases like anemia need blood transfusion extremely often. the parents can eliminate these diseases in their next child and match the tissues so they can transplant the healthy child’s stem cells

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).