Unethical Human Testing

We are living is a world where very soon it will be possible for people to create ‘designer babies’ that have all the features they wish for. In the article Building Baby from the Genes Up, Ronald M. Green talks about all the positive impacts that genetic modification of human beings can have on our future generations. Green acknowledges some of the negatives such as parents creating perfect children and being able to give them any trait the parent wants. However in the end he comes to the conclusion that the positive impacts of getting rid of genes that cause obesity, cancer, learning disorders, and many other diseases and disorders, outweighs the negative aspects. Richard Hayes, author of Genetically Modified Humans? No Thanks, takes the stance that we should not be able to change anything about human beings through genetic modification. He believes that once we start modifying a few features, it will slowly turn into every parent altering as many of their babies’ genes that they want. While he does acknowledge the positive impacts of getting rid of negative genes such as Tay-Sachs, he believes that it is not worth the risk of having parents manipulate all their future children’s genes to their liking. Green and Hayes stand on opposite sides of the debate about genetic modification of human beings and this essay will explore the similarities and the differences of their articles.

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.

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.

Although having a “designer baby” is not provided as a public possibility yet, the choice is in the near future. A designer baby is defined as a child whose genes were altered or selected to make sure a specific gene is attendant. Lee M. Silver, Princeton University microbiologist, predicts that the future will hold two human species, naturals and the gene-enriched (Preface to 'Genetic Enhancement of Human Abilities' n.p.). The gene-enriched refers to people with designer genes chosen by parents who have had the same done to them. This technology will first prevent birth defects and later diabetes and heart disease. As artificial genes develop to be common, the technology may be used to prevent drug and alcohol addictions, mental diseases, and eventually to create humans with synthetic characteristics (Preface to 'Genetic Enhancement of Human Abilities' n.p.). Parents will walk into a fertility clinic, choose the desired traits, and pay for the procedure. The fertility procedure to merge three people’s genetic material is currently being contemplated by The Food and Drug Administration (Smith 6).

Technology has made leaps and bounds over the past several years; it has come to have tremendous effects on how we live our lives; from transportation to how quickly we can access information. Recently, technology has begun changing the lives of children, especially infants. A new form of genetic engineering can genetically modify the DNA of an embryo to achieve specific or desirable traits; this is referred to as “Designer Babies”. This procedure will ultimately change lives, for better or for worse. While it may seem to most that designer babies are beneficial, they will actually cause more harm than good.

The term designer children is unnerving at first to many. The idea of parents designing the genetic makeup of their offspring makes children seem like a commodity in a genetic free market. Thoughts of a dystopian society like the one in the film “Gattaca” come to mind. However, taking an immediate repugnant stand against genetic enhancement is not well-founded. A more open-minded inspection of the issue reveals that the idea of parents improving their children’s life prospects through genetic engineering (provided it is safe) is, at its core, not unethical. In fact, some genetic enhancement in addition to correcting deleterious genes to prevent disease is a moral obligation. It is moral to make rational decisions using the science and

(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 term designer babies is the media’s name for eugenics. Eugenicists believe that it is in our society’s best interest to encourage families with “good genes” to reproduce, and to condemn the “unfit” families. These genetically modified children are considered as the “new eugenics”; “today’s version is ‘positive’: it allows for the creation of more desirable babies” (Tuhus-Dubrow, 40), also the original version deprived people of their rights and liberties.

Technology is ever evolving, but developing in not always the most ethical of ways, though. Due to gene editing, many peoples’ eyes have been opened to these unethical forms of treatment with the creation of methods to select your child’s gender, the riding of offspring’s genetically linked diseases, and the manipulation of the human DNA of the unborn embryo.

With the help of technology, scientists are capable of repairing one’s genes and prevent babies from inheriting “abnormal genes”. However, focusing on designer babies, this idea might sound really appealing to a lot of people. People will have a chance to “program” their own child according to their own will, and they might take the excitement out of the unexpected. On the other hand, aren’t parents abusing or taking advantage of technology to fulfill their own desire by selecting certain traits for a child and make them “perfect”? Providing a chance for parents to create “perfect babies” makes no difference with encouraging discrimination in society. We could not deny the fact that people have an image in mind of what characteristics

For years the discussion on designer babies has been upsurging and is now at the forefront of many medical and academic discussions. An experimental technique, known as gene therapy, birthed the idea of designer babies. This very experimental technique, y, uses healthy genes to treat, or rather prevent diseases that could be passed down from parent to child. However, scientists have ventured to further expound on the concept of preventing disease to a more cosmetic and superficial approach. The more imposing science of gene therapy would attempt to take science further into the realm of altering physical characteristics ultimately allow parents to choose their babies eye color, gender, and other physical characteristics that have no bearing on the child 's well being or health. The term now coined as “Designer Babies” is used to describe how by using gene therapy, parents can quite literally design their babies employing genetic screening combined with in vitro fertilization to alter otherwise naturally occurring physical appearances. Weather or not this revolutionary new science should be banned in the united states has become a very controversial topic in the U.S. igniting the strong opinions of scientists and politicians alike. Those in opposition believe that gene therapy is unethical, arguing that science is pressing toward a level that is morally perverse by allowing science to create the next generation instead of nature that we as a people are “playing God”. Urging

Imagine a world where wheel chairs do not exist or the illnesses that cause the mandatory use of wheel chairs are wiped out. The advancement in science that is being used to explore the possibilities to prevent or cure human disease is called gene therapy. The purpose of gene therapy is to remove or reverse the mutation of the cells in an embryo or a child, thus eliminating the disease from the child and the existence of the disease. With this advancement in science, children who are diagnosed with an inherited death sentence or an illness that will cause suffering within their life span are given a second chance. The support of gene therapy would give hope to parents who suffer from the horrifying decision of “pulling the plug” on their young children who suffer from inherited illnesses. In addition, instead of allowing ourselves to endure the guilty conscious of knowing our children have a high chance of contracting a genetic illness, it’s time for legislation around the world to fund the eradication of illnesses from embryos. Critics claim that the future of gene therapy will result in unborn children being treated as products when the parent imposes on their children’s natural life skills and physical features (“Human Enhancement: The New Eugenics.”). Also, ethicists worry that the process of successfully tinkering with an embryo opens doors to strive for perfect humans. Although there is the potential for the reemergence of eugenics and the creation of “designer

As of now, the world is standing on the verge of one of the most consequential technological thresholds in history, a scientific discovery that has the power to alter the very fabric of the lives of generations to come, challenging what it means to be human. Imagine a world in which one can look through a catalog of possible traits while shopping for a new child, picking hair color, intelligence level, and athletic ability. However crazy this may seem, “designer baby” is no longer a science-fiction term, but an expression that has now found its way into even the dictionary. A designer baby is defined as “a baby whose genetic makeup has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or ensure that a particular gene is present.” Currently, there are multiple functioning methods in which a scientist can genetically design an unborn child. For example, in a process of Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), the most common process of genetic engineering, geneticists are able to screen the cells of the embryo for the specific disorders, as well as characteristics, only implanting those that possess the desired traits--effectively opening the door to the questionable genetic shaping of future offspring. Manipulating a baby’s genetic traits undermines humanity, for it fosters drastic inequality, disfigures the parent child relationship, and destroys the appreciation of the giftedness of human life.

What if you could have your child born to be the best? Children are the number one priority and concern when it comes to the future of this world. The relationship between the ethical and scientifical standpoints has had a complex history. Although the murderous Nazi experimentations executed in the name of science are near 70 years behind us, science has continuously crossed new boundaries. The most prominent advancement in science that is currently forcing society to reassess ethical boundaries is genetic engineering. Genetic engineering, also known as GMO, is the direct manipulation of an organism’s genome using modern DNA technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes

The process of creating a “designer baby” is often questioned because of its shaky moral platform. Though there are certainly some positive things that can be obtained from the use of genetic engineering used on unborn babies, though there are questions on whether or not people are choosing their babies genes for reasons relating to. This is because people will start choosing their babies genes based on whether they want their children to be intelligent or sporty. This will make people think that the designer babies are more superior from children that were made naturally.