Designer Babies Controversy

Should We Continue to Make Designer Babies?

  

           If you could imagine constructing a child like a build-a-bear, from choosing its eyes, and hair color to removing the genes of a genetic disease to better ensure quality of life; well that’s a designer baby. Technically, a designer baby is an early age of cells, at the beginning of contraception, whose genetic makeup has either been selected to eradicate a particular defect or to ensure that a particular gene is present. If you had the opportunity and money to do this procedure, would you?  

Happy Babies 

            The BBC released an article about how this genetic process helps create genetically healthy babies. It informs us about a woman being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, doctors told her if she has a child she will not be able to care for her any longer after the age of 40. The whole entire family suffers from this early onset Alzheimer’s. Her father died from the disease and her brothers and sister are also currently fighting. Yet, through gene splicing they were able to “weed” the Alzheimer diseases out of her now 18-month-old daughter Yuri. The family is aware of the ethical implications however her brother stated that he “can’t speak for the public, but it's a decision of the family and not the public (“Screening Creates Diseases Free Babies”). The family infers that it’s not the public’s job to bash families for genetic editing; therefore, the families are responsible and have a reason why they are doing it. Further, two doctors illustrated that the mother represented awareness “by ensuring that her child will not have to live with the threat of developing early onset Alzheimer's” (“Screening Creates Diseases Free Babies”). 

Controversy Babies 

       Rahul Thadani is a writer for Buzzle.com. His topics vary from sports, scientific discoveries, food and tattoo removal. He also argues against designer babies. He believes in the future we will become segregated between “superior 'modified' humans", and “the pure”, defining that we would then me “inferior ones” (Thadani). As well as this, he insists that this situation will get exponentially worse. Thadani claims that the “diversity of the gene pool and human genetics will be affected”, and believes that the over similarity in our genes will “lead to a major percentage of the human race being wiped out completely by some major disease”. Later on, he argues that we’ll start thinking less on the effects on the children. Further, he hypothesizes that the more we get comfortable with gene editing the less we will realize if we start tweaking a gene another gene “must be shifting to balance the event” (Thadani). Because of gene tweaking, a child is predetermined to do certain activities, being more athletic or smarter, and then is unable to do everything else. Moreover, “the freedom of the child to choose a profession of his choice…will also be severely diminished” (Thadani). Thadani believes we are losing our ethics if we continue creating designer babies. He urges that “the human race must stop trying to play God” from toying with genetics on embryos (Thadani).

Final Thoughts

I believe that there are two ways to view this issue. On one hand, I believe that designer babies aren’t acceptable if you want to change the eye, hair, gender or fitness/extracurricular abilities. As I believe, you are discriminating the babies appearance before it is even born. However, I am slightly accepting if it is for the baby’s health regarding life-treating disabilities to ensure a better quality of life. Yet, is that process discriminatory of those who were born with the disease.

How do you interpret your opinion after reading? Are you on the fence for the similar reasons described, or another? If you feel so strong heartedly about designer babies being unacceptable, is there any circumstance where you think you would consider it? Further, what do you assume if when you hear “designer babies”, a chance at life or playing God? Does anything outside of the topic waiver your opinion like religion or personal experience? 

Written By: Angelique Domingo PSU Undergraduate 2019

Work Cited

"Screening Creates Disease Free Baby." Medicine, Health, and Bioethics: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Gale, 2006, pp. 477-479. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Accessed 12 Apr. 2018. Originally published as ‘Screening Creates 'Disease Free' Baby,” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1842932.stm, 27 Feb. 2002.

Thadani, Rahul. "The Public Should Oppose Designer Baby Technology." Designer Babies, edited by Clayton Farris Naff, Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, Accessed 13 Apr. 2018. Originally published as "Designer Babies Debate," http://www.buzzle.com, 20 Sept. 2011.