Should Designer Babies Be Regulated?

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Designer Babies

If it seems hard choosing what features to put on a new computer, then imagine how hard it would be to choose them for a child. The options could be endless, from hair color to what activities the child will be good at. Some people think designer babies are a good way to make the baby they really want. However, designing a baby is unethical and should not be used for anything but medical purposes only. Therefore, genetic engineering for designer babies should be regulated. Admittedly, some people believe that choosing the sex of their child will help avoid many abortions across the world. They also believe that designer baby technology is opening many new doors. “We 're unraveling our own blueprint and beginning to tinker …show more content…

As soon as they start they won’t be able to stop. “Once you start testing for some genes, it 's tempting to start testing for others” (Miller). Researchers will start with treating disabilities with genetic engineering, then realize how simple it is to alter other parts. For example, they could change hair and eye color or make them tall and skinny. Furthermore, traits are not the worst danger either. “Screening for cosmetic traits is only the tip of the iceberg… we now allow deaf parents to select for deaf offspring—will we allow straight parents to select for straight children, and gay parents for gay children” Altering a baby 's intelligence and emotions could be dangerous. As a result, designer baby technology needs to be limited for medical use …show more content…

The children might as well be named soccer player, soup chef, or whatever the parents choose they want their child to be good at. This could ultimately lead to a situation where each child is programmed to do certain tasks, and is unable to do anything else…” (Thadani). The children won’t be able to try other things because they weren 't programmed to do or be good at something else. In addition, the children might be programmed with the skills but there may not be programming for passion. “... The freedom of the child to choose a profession of his choice in the future, will also be severely diminished. The ethical repercussions of this are not very pleasant…” (Thadani). They may be able to do something very well but who knows if they are going to like it. For those reasons, designer baby technologies need to be banned in order to protect the

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