What Would You Do If Your Baby Was Born With A Defect?

On the one hand, some argue that genetically modifying DNA may aid in the removal of diseases. An Article by Amy Harmon, the New York Times National Correspondent, discusses the advancements in gene editing tools and how it's becoming a more promising practice. With the recent success in editing genes, more groups such as governments are looking into funding for these practices. The removal of certain genes form certain bugs may remove diseases and stop them from being spread.In humans, it could help stop spreading diseases spread by heredity. A new tool is being used in order to safely edit dna, “... Crispr provides an effective way to harness it. By encoding

magine, 20 years from now, sitting in a cold doctor's office deciding the genes of your unborn baby, what color hair, eyes, speed of metabolism, height would you even know what to pick? Impossible you might say but in this day and age technology is growing ever so rapidly that picking the genetic makeup of your baby is closer than you might think. The technology is called CRISPR. This technology doesn't only have the ability to change physical traits, but genetic traits specifically genetic abnormalities and diseases. 20 years ago, no one would have ever thought we would have the answer to, in theory, cure every genetic disease from sickle cell anemia to cystic fibrosis. However, with great scientific breakthroughs comes questioning and

CRISPR could revolutionize humanity. By targeting and severing specific genes, genetic disorders such as Down syndrome or cystic fibrosis could be eliminated. Diseases such as malaria could be driven to extinction, bringing about a new age of prosperity for the human race. Project Needlenose aims to do exactly that. Using CRISPR, their team has been able to produce mosquitoes immune to the malaria-causing parasite, plasmodium. Furthermore, the scientists will implement a controversial method of controlled inheritance known as the “gene drive”. The gene drive forces a trait to become dominant roughly 99.5% of the time. In such a large population of mosquitoes, the malaria-resistant genes would be spread quickly, giving no time for the parasite to adapt. Using CRISPR to eliminate disease could be implemented amongst other species, driving diseases such as lyme disease or dengue fever to extinction. Even in its infancy, CRISPR-Cas9 has already changed the way we live. CRISPR has been utilized in order to genetically modify crops for decades, producing what we know as genetically-modified organisms, otherwise known as GMOs. Though many shun the usage of

As we stand in the world today, we as humans have never been more technologically advanced or scientifically intelligent. We have the ability to explore outer space and the depths of the oceans. We are even in the process of developing organs using 3D printing technology. But there is a limit to the extent of advancements that humankind can reach before some begin to pose dangers to humanity or become unethical. Currently, technology is being developed to expand the procedure of in vitro fertilization to genetically modify embryos. The products of this engineering are commonly known as “designer babies”. This technology, when fully developed, would grant parents the opportunity to select against possibly life threatening or altering conditions such as cystic fibrosis, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. Using this technology, parents would also be able to make extensive selections regarding their baby’s gender, physical characteristics, and possibly even personality traits and talents. While it is positive advancement to be able to select against life-threatening diseases, the creation of an a-la-carte baby is unethical and crosses the line between positive sociological developments and immoral manipulations of nature for many reasons.

According to Nature.com, Crispr has been the largest leap in science since 1985, when the previous gene editing software was invented. This software, called PCR took tens of thousands of dollars and several years just to modify a single gene. Crispr, however, can do the same thing in less than a month for as little as thirty dollars per gene. What twenty years ago took a team of highly qualified researchers can now be done by anyone with a high school education. This could also be viewed as a bad thing, should crispr be released to the public, it would put unlimited power into the hands of nearly anyone in the world. Another possibility would be a rise in bioterrorism. Imagine a terrorist organization getting its hands on the power to shape a virus or bacterium however they pleased. While there are safer, albeit less effective ways to fix a genetic disorder, most scientists agree that it would be a waste to "toss crispr in the trash" simply because of its scary

Ethically this could make many people happy and live better lives knowing that they won’t have to worry about as many diseases and the fact the they will live a long healthy life but this could also make make all the people that aren't modified sad because they have to live normal lives and will be seen as the superior people because the are more prone to diseases and other health issues. Just like Vincent Freeman he wasn’t allowed to go to certain schools and get his dream job just because he wasn’t genetically modified as a

If your child had a huge chance to be born with a birth defect, what would you do? Would you have the child even though he or she may not have that good of life or will you have an abortion? Being in that spot as a parent can be a very hard call I can imagine. There is also a chance with the doctor or computer systems to be wrong about the results as well. You could have this baby and he or she ends up being perfectly fine but the doctor said there was a ninety-five percent chance this baby would be born with a disease. I personally feel that even though technology can be a great thing to have, it can also make people make really hard choice regarding their

However, with the statements being made in the Shorthorn article there are strong arguments. One being the designer babies instead of finding out at birth. It ruins the purpose of a surprise for the parents. Also the lack of consent to the offspring is unsettling. With the process of gene alteration there is a risk of genetic mutation but, would be solved with CRISPR. The concept of designer babies strips originality of an individual. CRISPR is still in the beginning stages as well so there will be trial and error. If the wrong gene were to be deleted would the side effects be permanent or temporary?

Imagine a world with less cancer, diabetes, and infant mortality. Yet at the same time, imagine a messed up world with “fake” people. There are so many ups and downs with CRISPR that it has caused many uproars as to whether or not it is ethically right to conduct experiments with. With this technique, we could help lots of people across the world. Yet at the same time, we could screw up and ruin the world with this technique. We need to set a firm line as to whether or not CRISPR is ethical.

Most parents would do almost anything for their children to be the best and know that in life they will be successful and ahead of the game, but what if even before they are even born you could alter their genes to give them an even greater advantage. This would allow one to “create” a child who is smarter, taller, and prettier, even if the parents never carried any of these traits. As the human race continues to develop and modern technology continues to advance, we have been able to create new inventions that could potentially help us overcome daily issues linked with diseases and mutations, but although to some this seems like an incredible idea, the motion of one day being able to modify your unborn baby to look and be who you want is not only morally wrong, but could result in drastic environmental changes. Genetically engineering has influenced many debates as to whether the ethics behind the motion are right, and like most scientific discoveries comes with many advantages and disadvantages.

There are other types of gene editing out there but research shows us that CRISPR is fast, precise, and simple. Researchers are developing a way for CRISPR therapy to help with Alzheimer’s all the way to HIV. There are two categories the researchers and people have put CRISPR in: practical and philosophical. The researchers say that the immediate barrier is practical. During the tests, CRISPR has found targets in other parts of the DNA that need fixing other than the intended part of the DNA. Because of this, it may take at least a generation to ensure that it is safe. Some people oppose CRISPR because the oppositionists say it lets people play god but getting medicine every time you get sick with the same thing obscures the natural order of things. The opportunities are getting pushed ahead for treating cancer, childhood diseases that are genetic, and how to understand diabetes better. The one question some people have is whether it’s right to edit genes that are

Modifying genomes hasn’t been perfected, and is far too great of a risk to use on society. No one knows what could happen to the population after man starts messing with mother nature. Scientists who are trying to destroy genetic diseases could create new problems or end up killing its test subjects later down the line. The possibilities for disasters are endless. People also claim that modifying humans is the fastest and most efficient way to getting rid of physical and mental health problems, but according to Molecular biologist Ellen Jorgensen, Using CRISPR isn’t what people see it to be. Ellen explains that using CRISPR is not actually easy at all. To use the technology, damaging the gene is crucial. Once the gene is damaged, and the cells start to repair, scientists can then manipulate the cells to repair the way they want it to, and not naturally. This is a complicated process, and it not in any way

Circa June 2011, I discovered I was pregnant. It was an amazing moment filled with questions, expectations and decisions. I have entered motherhood. Once you become a mother you turn into a protector, someone that would do anything and everything for their unborn child. In today’s society new technology has arisen in which parents can genetically modify their unborn child. From the way they look, to their gender and possibly their intelligence. This new technology creates a great debate regarding the morality and the acceptance of such genetic modifications. Genetic modifications for unborn children are unacceptable, it is an act of selfishness creating gaps in society and it that can potentially lead to new defects and diseases.

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.

If CRISPR became a big part of our society, there would start to be less and less genetic diversity. Parts of genetic information would start to become popular, and more and more people would become the same. Sports would be pointless if you could program your genetics, because professional sports players contain some of the best genetics to go to the professional level. There would no longer be professional sport because people would contains the same genetic information, so there would be no diversity in talent. Looks and character traits woful become popular, and would start to create to diversity from person to person in their looks and