Imagine yourself in your doctor’s office. He hands you a clipboard and you start checking off what you want… green eyes, blond hair, artistic, female. Congratulations, you’ve just created what you think is the perfect child. However, there is one small problem with this plan; someone has already tried to create the perfect human. His name is Adolf Hitler.
Designer Babies, a form of human genetic engineering, should be banned. When a human is created with a different embryo in a lab that child can feel a lost sense of identity; also, genetic engineering can lead to a loss of human diversity and an imbalance between the social classes; and the procedure for testing and creating genetically engineered children destroys embryos that had the potential of becoming a child.
Genetic engineering is a field that is growing rapidly every single day. First there was the cloning of Dolly the sheep, and then came the controversy surrounding it. Now we are looking at our technology and how someday soon, you could have the option to design your own child. To design their facial features, to design their interests, to design their build. Are you prepared to generate your child off of a checklist, or a simple computer program?
Think about your two parents. You were created uniquely from a mixture of their genes, just as your siblings were, and yet you and your siblings are different, inside and out, just like you are different to every other person on this planet. And that’s what makes us unique, the fact that we are all different. Genetic engineering and more specifically, designer babies can tear all that diversity down. Just like Hitler tried to do. We all know the failure of the Nazi party, trying to make the world “pure” of...
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...cket, when there aren’t any benefits.
Testing and procedures surrounding genetic engineering must be stopped. This has become more than just about vanity, this is a moral issue! Thousands and thousands of potential children die during this process. For the sake of humanity, and for the sake of your descendents, stop this procedure before it goes too far down this slippery slope, stop this procedure before we make the same mistakes Hitler did, trying to create the perfect humans. Genetic engineering and designer babies should be out right banned. The procedure causes children to lose themselves, to lose their sense of identity, human diversity will be diminished, and this procedure kills countless numbers of potential children. Nevertheless, children are already unique and wonderful the way they are, and we, have no valid reason to change that system.
A person's individuality begins at conception and develops throughout life. These natural developments can now be changed through genetically engineering a human embryo. Through this process, gender, eye and hair color, height, medical disorders, and many more qualities can be changed. I believe genetically engineering a human embryo is corrupt because it is morally unacceptable, violates the child's rights, and creates an even more divided society.
After the discovery of genetically altering an embryo before implantation, “designer babies” was coined to describe a child genetically altered “to ensure specific intellectual and cosmetic characteristics.” (“Designer Babies” n.p.). This procedure combines genetic engineering and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to make sure certain characteristics are absent or present in an embryo (Thadani n.p.). The procedure also includes taking an embryo to be pre-implementation genetically diagnosed (PGD), another procedure that doctors use to screen the embryos (Stock n.p.). An embryo’s DNA goes through multiple tests to obtain an analysis of the embryo, which will list all the components of the embryo including genetic disorders and physical traits such as Down syndrome, blue eyes, and brown hair, for instance (Smith 7). Although the use of PGD is widely accepted by the “reproductive medical community” and the modifying of disorders or diseases is to a degree, once the characteristics are no longer health related “72% disapprove of the procedure” (“Designer Babies” n.p.). At this point the parents make decisions that would alter their child’s life forever and this decision is rather controversial in the U...
Present technological capabilities point to PGD as the likely method for selecting traits. Even though technology has advanced and “designer babies” are being created more often today it is still in an experimental stage. This has caused many ethical issues and questions. Like anything genetic engineering and “designer babies” has its pros and cons. 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, but it is often wondered if parents will have the “right” reasons to genetically modify their baby, or if reasoning will become more superficial. Here are some of the cons associated with the genetic engineering of babies. If the process is not done carefully, the embryo could be accidentally terminated. Parents may use this technology for superficial purposes; such as purposely seeking out a blonde haired, blue eyed baby for appearance concerns
At one point in time, if someone was infertile then they couldn’t have kids. There was nothing that could be done. Not anymore. Now doctors can provide them another option called in vitro fertilization. Not only that but biomedical engineers have advanced this field to even greater extents. They can use gene manipulation to prevent certain genetic diseases such as asthma, muscular dystrophy and even greatly reduce the chances of disease rampant in the family history, such as breast cancer. One of these ways is the "three parent" idea. Reproductive surgeons will use the mother’s egg, but replace the mitochondria that contains the disease with second healthy mitochondria from a different mother resulting in three parents total. Contributing to the genetics of the offspring, scientists are projecting a new possibility: designer babies. These would be completely "customized" children. Manipulation of eye color, hair color, facial structure, height, size, numerous other changes are all possibilities. This is a modern field of medicine covering new ground. However these designer babies present major ethical issues. People feel scientists are taking full control of nature and lines are being crossed that shouldn't be. For example a scientist wanted her kid to look like her, therefore she implanted an embryo into herself and had a blonde hair blue eyed baby, just as she wanted, but should be genetically impossible. This research in designing a baby should be regulated; it is ideal for preventing devastating diseases that will worsen a human’s future life but completely controlling a baby's appearance and possibly their personality, though possible, should be illegal in the United States.
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 diseases, the genetic enhancement of human embryos is unethical when used to create "designer babies" with enhanced appearance, athletic ability, and intelligence.
Genetic engineering is nothing new. “Genetic engineering refers to a set of technologies that are being used to change the genetic makeup of cells and move genes across species boundaries to produce novel organisms.” (“What is Genetic Engineering?”). Using genetic engineering will allow parents to choose what traits their child will have. For example, the color of the child’s eyes, skin and hair will be decided. As well as, choosing the height of the baby and weight it will be able to be. Scientists are also finding ways to eliminate diseases in babies, “in February, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met to consider conducting clinical trials to test out genetic manipulation techniques to prevent mitochondrial disease from occurring in offspring.” (Ghose). With all the advancements science has made, being able to cure and vaccinate against diseases isn’t much of a shock. But when will the ethics come into ...
Genetically engineered babies also known as “Designer Babies” are children that are modified to your wants and desirer in what you want your child to look like. Typically women only use this procedure if they are infertile. The women decide what hair, eye color, or gender the baby is by doing this procedure. In this essay, I will explain how they’re made, the different religious debates about it, and why you shouldn’t do it.
A man and woman walk into an office where they are greeted by a fertility specialist, who then sets them in front of a computer. Here, the couple is able to scroll through various traits and characteristics, then mix and match them onto a computer generated infant so they can see how their chosen attributes will look when paired together. The man and woman decide on a baby boy with cornsilk blonde hair and emerald green eyes. Their future son will grow to 6 feet tall with an athletic build, have a genius IQ, and a predisposition for baseball. The doctor takes their order, and then schedules an appointment with the soon-to-be-parents to implant the embryo containing all those traits into the mother. While this scene may seem like a moment out of a science fiction novel, it is not too far off what very well may be available in the near future. Medical sciences and technologies are advancing rapidly, and in a society completely preoccupied with obtaining perfection, it should be no surprise to anyone that scientists are playing around with the idea of genetically engineering perfect humans. It is one thing to make the decision to enhance oneself with things like plastic surgery, steroids, collagen, herbal supplements, and so on. There is also nothing wrong with studying hard and practicing in a certain skill to reach expertise. But is it right to decide the fate of a child before he or she even has a chance to decide what they want for their self? Not only is there the sheer matter of right versus wrong, but there also many serious consequences to using such extreme sciences. Because these are new, experimental technologies, there is no predicting what adverse medical effects genetic modification could have on a child. Another plight...
People should not have access to genetically altering their children because of people’s views on God and their faith, the ethics involving humans, and the possible dangers in tampering with human genes. Although it is many parent’s dream to have the perfect child, or to create a child just the way they want, parents need to realize the reality in genetic engineering. Sometimes a dream should stay a figment of one’s imagination, so reality can go in without the chance of harming an innocent child’s life.
Genetic Engineering has recently become a contentious topic within medical and social circles. Controversial topics such as Sex Selection and Designer Babies are linked to Genetic engineering. They are destructive in every circumstance. Genetic Engineering is detrimental towards the individual and all posterity.
What do one think of when they hear the words “Designer Babies”? A couple designing their own baby of course, and it’s become just that. Technology has made it possible for there to be a way for doctors to modify a babies characteristics and its health. Genetically altering human embryos is morally wrong, and can cause a disservice to the parents and the child its effecting.
The concept of designer babies is a highly disputed topic. Some say that it is mainly beneficial because it can enhance and cure, but some would say otherwise because they see it as unethical and ultimately causing problems within society. Most parents would want the best for their child, so ‘improving’ them or ‘making them better’ makes sense. Which school a child goes to and which hobbies they take part in can be choices that a parent makes, which in turn hopefully makes the child’s life better. Genetic engineering could become a common practice and be another choice for parents to make, but is it just going too far?
Children and babies today hold the future. They control what the world’s future will be like and even how their future offspring will be. Many believe that designer babies have the power to change the future and develop a new world filled with “perfect humans.” “With so little control over the situation, most expectant parents say they don’t care what their baby looks like, ‘as long as it’s healthy.’ But secretly, they often have a dream baby in mind” (Bliss, 2012, p. 5). Parents can all agree that if their child is in a healthy condition, they are happy and thankful; however, every parent is guilty of wanting a child a certain way. If a parent could alter a child to be completely healthy with no diseases or ailments, have the perfect features and have the perfect personality, any parent would go beyond any limit to fulfill this. Designer babies are believed to have the possibility to complete this; however, the assertio...
Furthermore, another reason why creating designer babies is not ideal is that it will weaken diversity and uniqueness in our world. With human genetic engineering, humanity
Science has taken another step forward into the future of mankind by empowering parents to give their children the best start possible. We are now presented the opportunity to decide what personality and features we want our kids to have before their even born. Although at first glance, it may seem amazing and feel as if you’re picking the exact candy bar you want at a convenient store. However, are we ready for mankind to play, what some might call “God”? Is messing with the genetic code in our babies morally right? Or is it wrong? These are questions being brought up towards the matter of genetically engineering our babies. Danielle Simmons mentioned in the 2008 Nature Education that “Genes influence health and disease, as well as human traits and behavior”. Well genetic engineering on human genes has been going on for a long period of time now. It has also been performed on babies of women who were having trouble conceiving to prevent birth deficiency and help produce a healthy baby. As time went on, scientist became more precise and accurate in the genetic engineering of human genes (Simmons). Scientist is now able to help parents make their baby exactly the way, they prefer. Now that we are able to engineer the genetic code in humans to this extent, we can now produce a healthier generation that will have our ideal traits and behavior.