What is Designer Babies?
"Designer babies" is a term used by the media to describe the future of modifying or selecting children's genes for desirable characteristics (medical and cosmetic). If you still are unsure of what this means, it's basically parents that decide what type of baby they want this includes physical (cosmetic) and medically. For example, if one parent wants to have a baby with medium blue eyes, and no allergies. In my opinion, this type of research shouldn't be taken place at all due to the fact its taking away uniqueness from humans. A man and a woman are suppose to have a baby(ies) and not have to modify how they look. Modifying one's life is taking away the process of having a baby. People are not suppose to be perfect, and by modifying one's life to be a perfect baby breaks the whole chain of human life that God has created for us. "Recently scientists have made rapid advances in our knowledge of the human genome and in our ability to modify and change genes. In the future we may be able to "cure" genetic diseases in embryos by replacing faulty sections of DNA with healthy DNA." (Bionet). Even if scientists could make a healthy DNA for babies, it is still taking away human life.
Can we choose a baby's sex?
Today it is possible to choose the sex of the embryo using advanced reproductive techniques during IVF. Doctors can do this using one of two methods. The first method is to sort out a sample of the father's sperm and only fertilise the egg with either 'male' sperm or 'female' sperm. The second method is Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), which is used to screen-out embryos likely to have a genetic disease. PGD takes place
during IVF where the sperm fertilises the egg in a "test-tube" in a laboratory. The fertilised egg grows for a few days before a single cell is removed and tested to find out either the sex of the embryo or if abnormal genes are present.
Design-a-baby?
Scientists are learning more and more about how genes work and interact with each other. Using PGD it will soon be possible to screen and select for many more diseases. In the future it may be possible to really create 'designer babies' and to move from testing for medical conditions to the selection of designer features such as height, eye colour, facial appearance and perhaps even intelligence and personality. Like come on, this is just wrong. Parents choosing intelligence and personality of their new born baby is just like making a robot that comes out of the female :)
The Pros
Basically, the pros is the curing of diseases. For example, in 2000, in the United States, the Nash family made medical history by having a baby boy who had been selected using PGD to be a perfect tissue match for his very ill older sister. His sister suffered from a rare genetic disease so tissue from her new-born brother's placenta was used to restore her to health. Thus, the only pro in my opinion is the curing of diseases, or if scientists predict that the baby will come out abnormal, then its fine to modify that aspect of the human body.
The Cons
The cons are everything else except for the diseases. It is taking away the process of a male and female having sexual intercourse and eventually the female producing a baby, and raising the baby until he or she is ready to explore the world. These babies should not be modify to already be smart because then there will be no jobs for teachers. Adolf Hitler was on a quest to create a race of Aryan Blond (blue eyed and tall people). Creating designer babies in my perspective is on the same lines. The question I ask is Which skin color and physical features are to be chosen? The process of designer babies will effect biodiversity in ways that are not even imaginable. Also, traits decided by parents, eliminates the say of the child in his or her life. For example parents passionate about sports would have the athletic ability engineered into the child, however, the child may not want the same. he or she might not like sports. This reduces the child's freedom to choose.
Gene Therapy
The successes of gene therapy are modest, but its boundaries are extended almost daily. the attempt to cure disease and reduce suffering has found few opponents. But, there are worries that gene therapy will be abused. Also, some people believe that tampering with DNA is socially, morally, and ethically wrong.
Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering, if accepted, will have a negative impact on the society. People with genetic defects will be socially rejected. They will be called 'gene poor' and will be separated from the society too. Today, people who have genetic defects are already treated differently and cast out from society in several parts across the world. Designer babies concept, will lead to discrimination on the basis of certain qualities or traits. Kids of rich families will receive genetic enhancement, leading to more power . This gives them an unfair advantage over the other children. People unable to afford genetic engineering will be looked down upon.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Designer babies or basic genetic modifying is not something to play with. Its complex, and any mistake can alter the lives of many generations. Using designer babies, is just like designing clothes, designing toys, and so forth. We don't consider ourselves as objects, so we shouldn't be treating babies as objects to meet our needs. Technology is getting way out of hand and should draw the line before we get to far. Sooner or later, we would prob have an extinction of the human race, and everyone will be robots. Plus, we never know if designer babies will be fitting the needs of parents, there could there is a side effect on certain chromosomes or genes from certain generations. We as humans did not choose to enter this world! There are alot of things we do not understand about ourselves as well as the world around us. It is time to realize, that we cannot control everything in this world, although we desire to.
Sources
3 comments:
Hi Justin!
you share the same thought as I, humans fear the fact hat they cannot control the world as they see fit; therefore they strive to either prove to other people, or the themselves that their future can be controlled. You also stress the importance of the extinction of the human race, something that I didn't realize.
I believe there are a few more reasons why this process should be considered, such as a milestone for learning more about the human body. To know that humans have the knowledge of modifying a DNA is a positive milestone for the next generation, knowing that human beings are learning more about themselves. But I definitely agree that when comparing the pros and cons of 'designer babies', this method should not be practice at all. This does take away the chance of producing a child naturally and there might a slight decrease in the teaching profession. Also the child's freedom is at risk too, the child is force to use their talent the parents chose to fulfill the parents' desire. But I don't agree that genetic engineering is related to Hitler's goal of killing those that are not blonde and tall. Hitler's goal was to eliminate people who were not blonde and tall physically; genetic engineering, although not meant to, helps society an option to be more 'prefect', people will give up their child's uniqueness under social pressure. Genetic engineering does not kill people physically or mentally, but eliminates a small, but great part for human beings, their uniqueness, and without their uniqueness they will become robot-like.
Your statement about humans becoming 'robots' with the help of genetic engineering is a topic that I would have never thought about. I agree that technology is getting out of hand and if humans accept this process, then we are only allowing our extinction and the loss of passion.
Overall, stressing the importance of the loss of being human and more 'robotic' while providing a general understanding of genetic engineering makes this post more memorable.
P.S "like making a robot that comes out of the female", that made me laugh.
Justin
I defintely agree with the fact that technology is getting way to out of hand. I can't beileve its come to a point where one can choose traits for their children. its unatural, and could lead to extinction of the human race. nice blog
kyle.
Montes :)
Great minds think alot. People are creating robots. But good job on the bio blog justin! :)
- alba
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