Designer Babies: Shopping for your perfect child
The birth of a baby. One of the most pure, innocent and natural events in life. The excitement of gender. Is it a boy? Girl? Does it matter? Most parents will treasure their creation no matter their appearance or abilities. However for some people, the knowledge that their offspring is a product of them is not enough. With advances in genetic research, technology is now being developed that could allow specific genes to be selected to create a child with desired traits. Genetically modified embryos are being branded “Designer Babies,” but are these modifications safe to humanity or are we tampering with the moral guidelines?
The process of making the “perfect” child involves IVF or in vitro fertilization. You have probably heard of IVF before as nowadays it is a fairly common procedure that helps couples struggling to conceive due to infertility. The egg is taken from the woman and fertilized by sperm outside of the body. The zygote or fertilized egg then develops for 2-6 days before being inserted back into the uterus where the pregnancy continues. Although the concept of a ‘test tube baby’ is not everyone’s cup of tea, most understand that to these parents IVF is often a last resort and the very possibility of having a child is more than they could have imagined. However having a designer baby is one step further.
The selection of admirable traits is possible as when the gametes or sex cells are outside the body, the DNA within these cells that determine the characteristics of the child can be laid out in a karyotype. This is called PGD or pre-implantation genetic diagnosis which gives a complete picture of what the offspring will be like; from the gender and height to hair and ...
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...ir ‘ideal’ child. “This is the designer baby service; can I take your order?”
Works Cited
http://thebrainbank.scienceblog.com/2012/05/25/does-embryo-gender-selection-have-a-place-in-society/ http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123439771603075099 http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/2/4795586/23andme-designer-baby-patent http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/09/ivf-baby-born-genetic-selection-ultimate-elite http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10354358/Designer-baby-technology-patent-cricitised.html http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotechnology/agar.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/babies_prog_summary.shtml http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17902492 http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/03/sex-selection-babies
http://thebrainbank.scienceblog.com/2012/05/25/does-embryo-gender-selection-have-a-place-in-society/
The second article I have chosen to evaluate for this topic is The Designer Baby Myth written by Steven Pinker. This article starts off by explaining how many people fear the idea of genetic enhancement. Several citizens are concerned about creating the ultimate inequality or changing human nature itself. Many will say technology in medicine is increasing to the point where genetic improvement is inevitable. Steven presents his position on the matter in his thesis statement; “But when it come to direct genetic enhancement-engineering babies with genes for desirable traits-there are many reasons to be skeptical.” He makes it clear that genetic enrichment is not particularly inevitable or likely in our lifetime. He bases his skepticism around three sources; the limits of futurology, science of behavioral genetics, and human nature.
Catalano, Michael. "The Prospect of Designer Babies: Is It Inevitable?" The People, Ideas, and Things (PIT) Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
Most people agree, in general, that designer babies are taking over and it is it’s a good thing. A designer baby is a human embryo that parents set , to produce desirable traits. According to Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection , Fertility Institutes in Los Angeles offered to let parents select their children’s hair and eye color. Crazy to think you’d be able to build your own baby. The process of creating this designer baby would be embryos modified to predetermine intellect , physical prowess , and beauty. People may question designer babies but “if you think women have the right to control their bodies , then they should be able to make this choice” right? (Citation?) There is a lot of science into creating a designer baby.
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...
In recent years, great advancement has been made in medicine and technology. Advanced technologies in reproduction have allowed doctors and parents the ability to screen for genetic disorders (Suter, 2007). Through preimplantation genetic diagnosis, prospective parents undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) can now have their embryo tested for genetic defects and reduce the chance of the child being born with a genetic disorder (Suter, 2007). This type of technology can open the door and possibility to enhance desirable traits and characteristics in their child. Parents can possibly choose the sex, hair color and eyes or stature. This possibility of selecting desirable traits opens a new world of possible designer babies (Mahoney,
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.
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.
We want to be parents, but sadly our diseases won’t allow us to have healthy children. Imagine that doctors can remove the debilitating illness genes babies by using procedures like PGD (Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis), and enabling you to have any babies without worrying about their lifetime. Would we take a change? Most people would say yes, providing that they know the technique is safe and wouldn’t produce any superpower mutants. In fact, Pre- Implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD allows doctors to screen embryos for the presence of genetic defects before they are implanted into a woman's uterus. By that, unborn children can be modified their genes to change appearance, cleverness, resistance to disease. On the other hand, people debate about designer babies, about how we against nature and how this could affect our society? In my opinion, the idea of designer babies is beneficial to our society.
Imagine a parent walking into what looks like a conference room. A sheet of paper waits on a table with numerous questions many people wish they had control over. Options such as hair color, skin color, personality traits and other physical appearances are mapped out across the page. When the questions are filled out, a baby appears as he or she was described moments before. The baby is the picture of health, and looks perfect in every way. This scenario seems only to exist in a dream, however, the option to design a child has already become a reality in the near future. Parents may approach a similar scenario every day in the future as if choosing a child’s characteristics were a normal way of life. The use of genetic engineering should not give parents the choice to design their child because of the act of humans belittling and “playing” God, the ethics involved in interfering with human lives, and the dangers of manipulating human genes.
The addition of a child into a family’s home is a happy occasion. Unfortunately, some families are unable to have a child due to unforeseen problems, and they must pursue other means than natural pregnancy. Some couples adopt and other couples follow a different path; they utilize in vitro fertilization or surrogate motherhood. The process is complicated, unreliable, but ultimately can give the parents the gift of a child they otherwise could not have had. At the same time, as the process becomes more and more advanced and scientists are able to predict the outcome of the technique, the choice of what child is born is placed in the hands of the parents. Instead of waiting to see if the child had the mother’s eyes, the father’s hair or Grandma’s heart problem, the parents and doctors can select the best eggs and the best sperm to create the perfect child. Many see the rise of in vitro fertilization as the second coming of the Eugenics movement of the 19th and early 20th century. A process that is able to bring joy to so many parents is also seen as deciding who is able to reproduce and what child is worthy of birthing.
Usage of genetic modification to pick and chose features and personality traits of embryos could conceivably occur in future times. Wealthy individuals could essentially purchase a baby with built-in genetic advantages (Simmons). Ethically, these seem immoral. Playing God and taking control over the natural way of life makes some understandably uneasy. Ultimately, religious and moral standpoints should play a role in the future of genetic engineering, but not control it. Genetic engineering’s advantages far outweigh the cost of a genetically formulated baby and
Test tube babies have long been stigmatized by society as the unnatural results of scientific dabbling. The words `test tube baby' have been used by school children as an insult, and many adults have seen an artificial means of giving birth as something perhaps only necessary for a lesbian woman, or a luxury item only available to the elite few. The reality is that assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been helping infertile couples have children since 1978.1 The methods of in vitro fertilization, it's variants, and the other ART procedures are ways for persons that would otherwise have no hope of conception to conceive and, in a rapidly growing percentage of cases, give birth to healthy babies. As the technology has developed, the quality and range of assistance has developed as well. At present, the means of assisted reproduction and the capabilities of these procedures has grown at a somewhat dizzying pace. However, thought to the repercussions of the applications of ART are being disregarded to some extent while the public's knowledge and the understanding of embryologists and geneticists surges forward. It is possible given consideration to things such as the morality of these techniques, the unexplored alternative uses of these procedures, and the potential impact they posses that further development is unnecessary and possibly dangerous.
The question is present to many people when talking about it, “What is a designer baby?” A designer baby is a baby whose genetic makeup has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present (Oxford Dictionary). Designer babies can be seen as a disgrace or as a genetic miracle.
Prenatal genetic screening in particular is a polarizing topic of discussion, more specifically, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). PGD is one of the two techniques commonly used to genetically screen embryos in vitro; it is usually done at the eight-cell stage of division. PGD is most often performed when there is the risk that one or both parents carry disease-causing mutations. It is extensively used by high-risk individuals trying to conceive babes who will be free of particular mutations. PGD can test for over 50 genetic conditions and even allows for sex selection if there are underlying gender-associated medical conditions. When the results are satisfactory, the selected embryo is implanted into the mother’s uterus. While a controversial technique, preimplantation genetic diagnosis is one example of some of the good genetic testing can do, more benefits will be furthe...
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?