DESIGNER BABIES There have been many social views on the topic of designer babies, which include a scientist point-of-view. Designer babies are those of which parents can make the rash decision to genetically alter their child so that they do not develop the genetic disorders that many of us have today. By using IVF or InVitro Fertilization as the method of altering the genes, doctors have been able to “custom make” unborn babies to portray or eliminate certain characteristics. What is a Designer Baby and How Are They Made? By definition, a “Designer Baby” is a genetically modified, unborn child. Basically, they are children who have been “designed” with the desired sex or characteristics. Scientists continue to learn more about the human genome, and as they do reproductive technology continually advances to levels that we never imagined. Researchers linked to Bionet point out: Advanced reproductive techniques involve using InVitro Fertilization (IVF), which is where eggs are fertilized by sperm in ‘test tubes’ outside the mother’s body in a laboratory. The type of sperm (X or Y) that fertilizes an egg can be chosen, which is used to determine the sex and genes of the baby. The embryos can be screened for genetic diseases, and only selected embryos are implanted back into the mother’s womb. This technique is called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis or PGD. (Bionet par. 2) Michael Lemonick, a writer for Time, shows in his article “Designer Babies” that these techniques allow doctors and parents to reduce the chance that a child will be born with a genetic disorder. It must be catching on because each year in the U.S. about 25,000 kids are born by IVF (Lemonick par. 16). And, not only is this like an extravagant shopping experienc... ... middle of paper ... ...d no longer be human – but property. This is inhuman, and we must make sure that it does not happen by carelessly letting this technology be abused. References Bailey, Ronald. “Hooray for Designer Babies!” Reason Online 6 Mar. 2002. 19 Nov. 2005 http://www.reason.com/rb/rb030602.shtml. Bionet. 19 Nov. 2005 http://www.bionetonline.og/English/Content/db_cont1.htm Alma College Lib., Alma, MI. 20 Nov. 2005 Lemonick, Michael. “Designer Babies”. Time 11 Jan 1999: 64-67.ReadersGuideAbs. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989987,00.html McKibben, Bill. “Design-a-kid”. Christian Century 17 May 2003: 22-28. Article First. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2708 Brownlee, Shannon. “Designer Babies”. Washington Monthly Mar. 2002 http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0203.brownlee.html
Once altered, the baby will have no say in how its cells are used, or traits they wish to keep but no longer will have the chance too. Some designer babies are created to help others through transplants. Even though the intention may be decent, it is still taking away the child's chance to have a choice in his body. Certain transplants are painful, such as a bone marrow transplant, and creating the child to be used as a donor could possibly put him through involuntary pain.
Designer babies are just like any other child and will grow up just as any other child will. The only difference between designer and normal babies are that designer babies are genetically modified. The genetic modifications would ideally include immunity to illnesses, choice of sex, physical characteristics, and mental and physical capabilities. The genetic modifications could be as little or as extensive as the parent would like but the doctors in charge would be able to recommend certain modifications in order to combat certain common family diseases. All of this would ultimately lead into more popular genes being passed down to the children and less and less modifications will be needed. This is able to be done because DNA or genes are the basis of all characteristics in organisms. As of yet, humans lack the technology and ...
Most people agree, in general, that designer babies are taking over and it is it’s a good thing. A designer baby is a human embryo that parents set , to produce desirable traits. According to Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection , Fertility Institutes in Los Angeles offered to let parents select their children’s hair and eye color. Crazy to think you’d be able to build your own baby. The process of creating this designer baby would be embryos modified to predetermine intellect , physical prowess , and beauty. People may question designer babies but “if you think women have the right to control their bodies , then they should be able to make this choice” right? (Citation?) There is a lot of science into creating a designer baby.
After the discovery of genetically altering an embryo before implantation, “designer babies” was coined to describe a child genetically altered “to ensure specific intellectual and cosmetic characteristics.” (“Designer Babies” n.p.). This procedure combines genetic engineering and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to make sure certain characteristics are absent or present in an embryo (Thadani n.p.). The procedure also includes taking an embryo to be pre-implementation genetically diagnosed (PGD), another procedure that doctors use to screen the embryos (Stock n.p.). An embryo’s DNA goes through multiple tests to obtain an analysis of the embryo, which will list all the components of the embryo including genetic disorders and physical traits such as Down syndrome, blue eyes, and brown hair, for instance (Smith 7). Although the use of PGD is widely accepted by the “reproductive medical community” and the modifying of disorders or diseases is to a degree, once the characteristics are no longer health related “72% disapprove of the procedure” (“Designer Babies” n.p.). At this point the parents make decisions that would alter their child’s life forever and this decision is rather controversial in the U...
Two of the most popular technologies used today for sex selection are, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) (Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2015). IVF involves combining the egg cells and the sperm cells outside the uterus. Once fertilized, the egg is then implanted back into the women’s uterus or stored for future use.
In recent years, great advancement has been made in medicine and technology. Advanced technologies in reproduction have allowed doctors and parents the ability to screen for genetic disorders (Suter, 2007). Through preimplantation genetic diagnosis, prospective parents undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) can now have their embryo tested for genetic defects and reduce the chance of the child being born with a genetic disorder (Suter, 2007). This type of technology can open the door and possibility to enhance desirable traits and characteristics in their child. Parents can possibly choose the sex, hair color and eyes or stature. This possibility of selecting desirable traits opens a new world of possible designer babies (Mahoney,
What do one think of when they hear the words “Designer Babies”? A couple designing their own baby of course, and it’s become just that. Technology has made it possible for there to be a way for doctors to modify a babies characteristics and its health. Genetically altering human embryos is morally wrong, and can cause a disservice to the parents and the child its effecting.
While people may have little insight into the new developments of designer babies, science has explored and expanded genetic editing. “Manipulating genes is legal”. According to Chinese scientist who created such technology. (in slide show). In 1994, the argument was to have equal rights so the poor get the same treatment like the rich. (embryo.aus). in adjacent to the statistics, some studies indicate Americans would like to know if their child would develop Alzheimer’s, or cancer (put statistics in a slide show) . (genetic technology pg 6,7). The Harvard STAT and Harvard T.H. Chan school of public health found that people now have mixed and apparently not firm vies on designer babies. The outcome was split between whether the federal government should fund, research on editing genes( polls).. For instance, The food and drug administration centers for Medicaid, Medicare services, and the federal trade commission regulates genetic testing and research in the US. There is no law forbidding genetic manipulation in humans. (site this). There are many great reasons why designer babies should be valid. With new technology curing diseases is an awesome way to use (PGD), it is possible to save a human from being
Ghose, Tia. “Children to Order: The Ethics of ‘Designer Babies.’” Livescience. N.p., 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 3 May 2014. .
Picture a young couple in a waiting room looking through a catalogue together. This catalogue is a little different from what you might expect. In this catalogue, specific traits for babies are being sold to couples to help them create the "perfect baby." This may seem like a bizarre scenario, but it may not be too far off in the future. Designing babies using genetic enhancement is an issue that is gaining more and more attention in the news. This controversial issue, once thought to be only possible in the realm of science-fiction, is causing people to discuss the moral issues surrounding genetic enhancement and germ line engineering. Though genetic research can prove beneficial to learning how to prevent hereditary diseases, the genetic enhancement of human embryos is unethical when used to create "designer babies" with enhanced appearance, athletic ability, and intelligence.
Darnovsky, Marcy. "CGS : The Case Against Designer Babies." CGS : Center for Genetics and
Although the advancement of genetic science has provided humans with the ability to choose their child’s sex, eye color, or even intelligence, some believe that it is highly immoral to commercialize this new found power. The Oxford English Dictionary defines eugenics as the science of improving the (especially human) population by controlled breeding for desirable inheritable characteristics (Suckling, 2000). The original purpose of the trait selection, called eugenics, was to check for certain disease-bearing genes. This allowed for parents to choose non-disease bearing embryos using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) (Steere, 2008). The technology has recently been developing into detecting various other physical traits that will undoubtedly become abused by the general public if it is brought to the commercial market (Suckling, 2000).
Test tube babies have long been stigmatized by society as the unnatural results of scientific dabbling. The words `test tube baby' have been used by school children as an insult, and many adults have seen an artificial means of giving birth as something perhaps only necessary for a lesbian woman, or a luxury item only available to the elite few. The reality is that assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been helping infertile couples have children since 1978.1 The methods of in vitro fertilization, it's variants, and the other ART procedures are ways for persons that would otherwise have no hope of conception to conceive and, in a rapidly growing percentage of cases, give birth to healthy babies. As the technology has developed, the quality and range of assistance has developed as well. At present, the means of assisted reproduction and the capabilities of these procedures has grown at a somewhat dizzying pace. However, thought to the repercussions of the applications of ART are being disregarded to some extent while the public's knowledge and the understanding of embryologists and geneticists surges forward. It is possible given consideration to things such as the morality of these techniques, the unexplored alternative uses of these procedures, and the potential impact they posses that further development is unnecessary and possibly dangerous.
A designer baby is a child who is genetically modified for the purpose of removing any defects that are genetically linked, and/or to select certain genes that appeal to the parents. This process of creating designer babies is called genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is the alteration of DNA by adding and/or removing certain genes. Since the discovery of human genetic modification, scientists have proposed the idea of
Prenatal genetic screening in particular is a polarizing topic of discussion, more specifically, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). PGD is one of the two techniques commonly used to genetically screen embryos in vitro; it is usually done at the eight-cell stage of division. PGD is most often performed when there is the risk that one or both parents carry disease-causing mutations. It is extensively used by high-risk individuals trying to conceive babes who will be free of particular mutations. PGD can test for over 50 genetic conditions and even allows for sex selection if there are underlying gender-associated medical conditions. When the results are satisfactory, the selected embryo is implanted into the mother’s uterus. While a controversial technique, preimplantation genetic diagnosis is one example of some of the good genetic testing can do, more benefits will be furthe...