...Designer Babies December 7, 2015 The prospect of designer babies, like many of the ethical dilemmas presented by the genetic revolution, is confronting the world so rapidly that doctors, ethicists, religious leaders and politicians are just starting to face with the implications, and trying to decide how they feel about it. Deciding the babies gender is just one of the many possibilities available with gene alteration. What must be considered though is the idea that this new development goes against our human nature. We are choosing how a human will look like and how his body will react to certain things before this person is even born, just like GMO’s in our food, an alteration of an organism so that it is better or even “perfect”. The ethical issues brought by this technique from the genetics labs are likely to be very complicated. What if parents can use pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to avoid having kids with attention-deficit disorder or those predestined to be short or predisposed to homosexuality? Will they feel pressure from friends and relations to do so? And will kids who are allowed to be born with these characteristics be made to feel even more like second-class citizens than they do now? This technique is beginning to be more popular by the hour, and it is important that it is controlled in the correct way. This new development is incredibly powerful to the human race because it is capable of altering every little defect a human has or may have in the future...
Words: 989 - Pages: 4
...Designer Babies December 7, 2015 The prospect of designer babies, like many of the ethical dilemmas presented by the genetic revolution, is confronting the world so rapidly that doctors, ethicists, religious leaders and politicians are just starting to face with the implications, and trying to decide how they feel about it. Deciding the babies gender is just one of the many possibilities available with gene alteration. What must be considered though is the idea that this new development goes against our human nature. We are choosing how a human will look like and how his body will react to certain things before this person is even born, just like GMO’s in our food, an alteration of an organism so that it is better or even “perfect”. The ethical issues brought by this technique from the genetics labs are likely to be very complicated. What if parents can use pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to avoid having kids with attention-deficit disorder or those predestined to be short or predisposed to homosexuality? Will they feel pressure from friends and relations to do so? And will kids who are allowed to be born with these characteristics be made to feel even more like second-class citizens than they do now? This technique is beginning to be more popular by the hour, and it is important that it is controlled in the correct way. This new development is incredibly powerful to the human race because it is capable of altering every little defect a human has or may have in the future...
Words: 989 - Pages: 4
...GENETIC ENGINEERING 1 Genetic engineering and the possibility of designer babies Cynthrea Bright International Management Dr. Matthew Ademola November 27, 2012 Introduction Shannon Brownlee is the acting director of the New America Health Policy Program and is also a nationally known writer and essayist. In March of 2002 she wrote an article for the Washington Monthly called Designer Babies. Brownlee explains the birth of cytoplasmic transfer in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process and the technical advances from this process that is making designer babies possible. Summary How is the creation of designer babies even possible? Well the process began with the creation of IVF and then in the 1990s embryologist Jacques Cohen created the process called cytoplasmic transfer. This process gave women who did not have success with normal IVF hope by placing cytoplasm from a fertile egg into the infertile women’s eggs. The first baby born from this process was in 1997 and at first was deemed a huge success and advancement in technology. Then 4 years later Cohen admitted to adding mitochondrial DNA to the embryo what in essence gave the child three parents, the mother, father and the mitochondrial DNA donor. This was the first form of human genetic modification and the long term ramifications are still unknown. One of the children born with the mitochondrial DNA has developed a mild form of autism but it has not been determined if it is because of the...
Words: 1257 - Pages: 6
...Designer Babies A couple just got married a few weeks ago, and they are looking for the perfect car. They go down to the dealership in hopes of finding their dream car. The couple gets there and continues to look around, when they find a Buick Enclave. It is brand new and looks nice, but it does not have everything they are looking for. A salesman comes over to ask if they need some assistance, and they tell the salesman they like the car but it just does not have all the things they are looking for. The salesman tells them it is not a problem; they can just special order the car if they wanted. The salesman brings them inside and hands them a list of options they are able to choose from. Color? Blue. Seats? Leather. DVD player? Heck yes! Seat warmers? Yes please. Chrome wheels? Of course. The salesman then sends the lists of options to the Buick Company so the couple’s car can be custom built. The couple is happy with the car they got to design themselves, but now it is time for them to have a child. The couple wants their child to be a girl, somewhat tall, with blonde hair, big blue eyes, and olive skin tone. They go to the doctors and the doctor tells them that it is possible for them to have their “dream child”. The couple is ecstatic and tells the doctor what they want. Nine months later they have themselves their perfect child. Scientists have already modified animals and crops, so why not babies? There are arguably positive and negative results...
Words: 1364 - Pages: 6
...Designer Babies: Ethical or Unethical Designer babies are one of the most controversial issues in modern medicine. It can be seen as it being ethical by eliminating diseases and lead to an improved quality of life and longevity but also sees it as being unethical because it could possibly lead to the parent controlling the physical and or psychological features of a child. There are a couple of reasons why creating a designer baby can be beneficial health wise that some people may see it as being ethical but others sees it as unethical because couples are looking into designing their baby for physical traits more than health reason. Technology now a day’s make it possible to detect genetic disorders such as Down syndrome and Turner’s syndrome or many more. If the embryo is positive for a disorder the parents have the option to abort it. Another benefit by using this research it can get rid of all genetically transferred diseases leading to a future healthier population. Choosing donor physical and psychological traits essentially means that hopeful parents can buy a baby of their choice, picking everything from hair and eye color to skin color, height, and race. The so-called designer babies that come from such deliberate selection could in the future be created in a laboratory, as scientists understand enough about the human genetic code to possibly alter embryonic DNA for parents who want their babies to look and possibly act a certain way. The ethics of designer babies...
Words: 1068 - Pages: 5
...Before the arrival of in vitro fertilization and genetic engineering, creating a designer baby was basically a science fiction conceptualization. In today’s day and age with the advances of modern technology a theory such as creating a designer baby could become a realization. An individual possesses the right to have free will and to exercise those rights with out any resistance. From an ethics standpoint, the reasoning by committing such an action has to be taken into account. Would it be strictly for fame and driven by an individuals ego? Or possibly to prevent a medical condition which is hereditary? If it is for the latter then we would have a society with a large population of designer babies. As per the textbook, “In the case of reproductive technology, ethical positions should be grounded on consideration of what furthers the future good of potential children, their individual parents, their families, and the moral standards of worth of the larger society” (Callahan, 2013, p. 74). However, our society is driven by competition and pressure to be perfect; so why wouldn’t an individual who has the resources not want to do anything possible to avoid harm to a newborn child? On the other hand, if creating a child with the intention of having the “perfect baby” is driven by an individual’s ego and fame then it may be viewed ethically wrong. Having a child is in the hands of mother nature. To begin to alter its fate and our sense of being would diminish the value of life...
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...As dictionary.com defines it “A baby developing from an embryo created by in-vitro fertilization and selected because it had or lacked particular genes, the genetic makeup often having been modified by genetic engineering”. The modification of genes is not a new concept. In fact, genetic modification has been around long before we were able to communicate with each other through selective breeding. This was seen with farmers selectively choosing to use the seed from their best crop to use the next year as well as breeding their best animals. Through great scientific insight we are now able to manipulate the genes of plants to make them fight off to certain pests and diseases. Which has helped out end the spread of certain diseases being passed down to the next generation. This helpful method know as Gene Therapy and is helping stop the spread of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis. The process in which we genetically modify our children is a very difficult operation. Designer Babies are created through a technique called In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in which an embryo is created and then the DNA is altered by genetic engineers. The issue that this has created in recent times is the fear of how humane the operations are. Many people have...
Words: 589 - Pages: 3
...The Solutions to Designer Babies Perfection in terms of procreating was once a sky limit that was unreachable. In the pursuit of procreating the most perfect children, today’s society has proven this limit to be attainable. The issue of “designer babies” has shaken not only are nation’s values on the introduction of new children into the world, but also our unity as a society on this subject. Designer babies could arise problems in diversity around the world, the outnumbering of women in some countries, and social advantages to the wealthy. Split into two sides, our society continues to shift between what we believe is right and wrong regarding this new form of perfection. The future of genetic engineering (gene therapy) or “designer babies”...
Words: 1718 - Pages: 7
... these genetic-modified mice learned things significantly faster from the environment and retained knowledge longer than other mice (Saenz, 2009). More importantly, some experts claim that similar technologies are within reach of creating designer babies in decades (Tokar, 2001). The term of “Designer Baby” is defined as the genetic modification of embryos in order to artificially...
Words: 1490 - Pages: 6
...PRO Designer Babies Designer babies are the concept that involves the isolation of human embryos from a willing human donor. The individuals involved in the process are allowed to choose the traits and the genes that they desire to be present in the embryo and the eventual baby. The idea is technically called the liberal eugenics. Genetic engineering was incorporated in certain species of plants to modify crop yields and improve resistance to certain crop diseases. The scientists inserted a given gene into plasmid bacteria to ensure that the plant cell assumed the new DNA. The technology has allowed many plant species to thrive in harsh conditions, including cold, hot, and effectively resist pests. There are different edible foods, which have been designed through the technology. The last century has recorded discoveries that have involved immense benefits on human lives. The findings involve the use of genes, which refer to the reason behind the different characteristics and features among different humans. However, the new technology involves knowledge, which facilitates an alteration of the human characteristics. Humans have benefited from the technology of designer babies by elimination of the harmful genes as experienced in 2001 in Los Angeles. Contrarily, religion nd the society continue to question the social and moral well-being of creating a child with the traits that the parents desire. The opponents of the technology argue that genetic technology is uncertain and...
Words: 2834 - Pages: 12
...Is it Ethical to Produce Designer Babies? What if parents could have the child of their dreams? Now scientists are close to making it possible to where parents can design their own “perfect” child. It means that they will be able to pick out their child’s hair color, personality traits, and even if they want them to be athletic or not. According to, (www.infertility.com), out of 1000 surveyed, 40% of people said they would pick the traits of their child. Only 9% seen something wrong with the idea of designer babies. I am going to tell you about what exactly is a designer baby, the pros, and the cons of having a designer baby.. The positives: Take the case of Cindy and John Whitley. Their first child died at the age of 9 months from a deadly genetic disorder called spinal muscular atrophy. Genetic analysis uncovered that the Whitley’s statistically had a 1 in 4 chance of creating a child with spinal muscular atrophy each time they conceived. Unwilling to risk having another child with the deadly disorder, the Whitley’s used PGD to conceive three children, all healthy. To start off with, designer babies aren’t easy to develop it takes a lot of knowledge. According to research done by scientist Keith Kleiner, “…Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis is used with in vitro fertilization to look at embryos for over 100 diseases before it is in the mother.” After seeing what embryos have diseases they then destroy them. Scientist use in vitro fertilization to fertilize the eggs...
Words: 1123 - Pages: 5
...Karen Bleile Genetic Report for Designer Babies Biology 111-112 / J. Thomson October 30, 2012 In the 21 century the term designer babies made the transition from sci-fi movies into the real world where it is defined as “a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with invitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics.” (Oxford University, 2005) Breeders of animals and plants have been using this technique to “produce organisms that will possess desirable characteristics, such as high crop yields, resistance to disease, high growth rate and many other phenotypical characteristics that will benefit the organism and species in the long term.” (Butler, 2012) We need to pause and ask ourselves if we start to cross breed the human race what are the moral or ethical limits, if any, and should we apply guidelines in allowing people to choose their children’s genes or characteristics when designing a baby. In many science fiction movies the subject of having genetically modified humans or creatures are often brought up. The creative author has the ability to give their characters any traits they want. They have the power to make the characters stronger, faster, more intelligent, to specify how they look, or simply be superhuman. Now imagine the scenario if the stories cease to lie in just the films we...
Words: 2073 - Pages: 9
...With the growing of scientific and technological advances today, it should come as no surprise that designer babies have now become a possibility. The term designer baby refers to how certain attributes of a baby can now be modified to our perceived advantage to create a perfect child. This, of course, is absurd, as these modifications will create ethical issues relating to fairness, harmful consequences, and morality human rights and justice, the dignity of an individual, issues of morality, religion, No baby has the option whether it wants to modified or not. For this reason, changing the genetic build of a baby is unfair and shameful. In the article "8 Most Notable Pros and Cons of Designer Babies” the author writes, "A baby will have...
Words: 381 - Pages: 2
...best possible lives for them. However, something about designing and modifying children feels un-natural. My initial reaction is that these parents are serving their own desires and looking for personal gain. Truthfully, I don’t think anyone wishes their child is born with a disease. I am however fascinated with all the advancements in reproductive technologies. One hand, it provides hope and a great opportunity to those unable to conceive naturally and also reduce the chances of babies being born with serious disease. But on the other hand, there is the sense of parents playing God. I would say any form or bioengineering or cloning violates the principle of autonomy. By parents choosing their child’s genetic makeup in advance, parents deny them the right to an open future. Then there is the associated risk of multiple gestation pregnancy where they are...
Words: 799 - Pages: 4
...After observing and researching over the last week, GMOs, Genetic Disease, and Designer Babies. If you didn't know GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms. GMOs are found in crops. Genetic Disease is a disease that is passed down by your family. An example of this would be Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Last we learned about Designer Babies. If a parent wants their child to have blonde hair and blue eyes they can use a screen to change their eye color, hair, ect. Based on my evidence I am against Designer Babies. I believe that we should not be experimenting on babies to just change their hair, gender, intelligence, or eye color. If a parent wants to change the hair and eye color of their baby before they are out of the...
Words: 344 - Pages: 2
