Are Designer Babies Ethical?

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Are Designer Babies Ethical?
A Review of Literature
Shantelle Roy
Chadron State College

Author’s Note:
This paper was written for English 137, Section 100, taught by Dr. Evertson.
Abstract
Designer babies are a relatively new subject in scientific research. “Designer Baby” refers to a child that has been genetically modified to meet a certain set of genetic criteria. Designer babies are achieved when the fetus is modified during the embryonic stage through gene editing. Genetically modifying an organism is done by using the organism’s CRISPR-CAS9 protein to splice and edit parts of the deoxynucleic acid (DNA) sequence. This literature review focuses on the ethical issues that are found with designer babies and genetic engineering. …show more content…

Are Designer Babies Ethical?
A Review of the Literature Since 1990, scientists have been able to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This technique has allowed for the genetic analysis and modification to occur to embryos before the transfer into the uterus (Cohen, 2016). With this advancement, scientists are able to use the CRISPR-CAS9 protein to splice out certain genetic sequences and enhance a baby’s genes before they are born (Sas and Lawrenz, 2017). Scientists have been using the name “designer baby” for this procedure. However, there has been a growing debate put on the subject of designer babies and genetic engineering. As technology becomes a stronger aspect in our society, we are able to manipulate genes for favorable conditions. This aspect of science is ground-breaking and extremely intriguing. However, there is always the moral question whether or not that genetically selecting qualities for your child is ethical. Parents have the choice whether or not to enhance their children to become more athletic, smarter or even prettier. One could essentially genetically modify the perfect human. However, most parents these days are not genetically modifying their

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