Designer Babies: Genetic Engineering

1017 Words3 Pages

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. For just thousands of dollars more, women going through in vitro fertilization can later choose to have a certain gender with perfect vision, a great heart, a natural ability for sports, and being able to avoid diseases (Angelle). Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis was first inaugurated in 1990. “It has become an important complement to the presently available approaches for prevention of genetic disorders and an established clinical option in reproductive medicine” (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis). This has come in handy because it gives you the opportunity to create a baby free of health risks and you are able to freeze your eggs if you miscarry or if something harmful goes wrong with the first egg. Designer babies are created using In Vitro Fertilization. Using this technique, doctors can fertilize the egg with sperm inside the laboratory using a test tube. Doing so you can reduce the chance of the child being born with a genetic disorder and the parents can actually then on choose the sex of the baby. In some cases couples have used PGD to their advantage to save one of their children. Some babies sole purpose is to be created to save the life of their own sibling. Jamie was the first “designer” baby in Britain. “He was genetically matched to his four-year-old brother, Charlie, in the hope to curing a rare type of anaemia which threatens the older boy... ... middle of paper ... ...esigner Babies. Ed. Clayton Farris Naff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Lerner, Adrienne Wilmoth. "Designer Babies." Biotechnology: In Context. Ed. Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2012. In Context Series. Student Resources in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Marsh, Beezy. "'Designer' Baby to save Brother." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. "Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: What Is PGD." Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: What Is PGD. Genoma Excellence in Genetic Testing, 2007. Web. 01 May 2014. Thadani, Rahul. "The Public Should Oppose Designer Baby Technology." Designer Babies. Ed. Clayton Farris Naff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Designer Babies Debate." http://www.buzzle.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Ethical Dilemmas of Genetically Engineering Human Embryos

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    A person's individuality begins at conception and develops throughout life. These natural developments can now be changed through genetically engineering a human embryo. Through this process, gender, eye and hair color, height, medical disorders, and many more qualities can be changed. I believe genetically engineering a human embryo is corrupt because it is morally unacceptable, violates the child's rights, and creates an even more divided society.

    Read More

  • Neo-Eugenics The Social and Biological Ethics of Designer Babies

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    Suter, Sonia M. "A Brave New World Of Designer Babies?." Berkeley Technology Law Journal 22.2 (2007): 897-969. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 May 2014.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies: Disease Free or New Child

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    Clayton Farris Naff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Designer Babies Debate." http://www.buzzle.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies Case Study

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, stakeholders are those who play a crucial part and stand to benefit, or lose from it. The four main stakeholders here are (1) the babies who are the most affected stakeholders, not able to make choices for themselves; (2) their parents who wants the best for their children; (3) the government who is accountable for the laws and regulations of PGD; and (4) the researchers or medical institutions who depend on government approval to research and allow medical institutions to carry out their work (Stakeholders in Designer Babies, 2009).

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Creating A Designer Baby

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Genetic Enhancement is Unethical

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Designer Babies

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    While learning in sociology 101, I found an interesting theory that relates to the topic, “Designer Babies”. I will be stating viewpoints about some examples that I researched. In the book, Essentials of Sociology by James M. Henslin, our class identified the interpretation of the word McDonaldization. The definition of the word works perfectly with the principles and understanding tactics of designer babies, or gene editing. The definition of McDonaldization is the process by which ordinary aspects of life are rationalized and efficiency comes to rule them, including such things as food preparation (Henslin,year). Although I 'm not discussing fast food, I 'm discussing how designer babies are unique and are out of the normal tradition .

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at Disigner Babies

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ngerous game to play and included unpredictable risks but this is promising and worthy to try. However, designer babies bring a new hope to many families, a solution to pollution and future. People will debate about PGD’s ethical and liberty for long, but the value of technique has estimated and proved. Therefore, scientists do not have a power of God, but they have brave and power of knowledge. If they can ensure designer babies’ benefits, what stop us to say yes?

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Designer Babies

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most parents have the tendency to want what is best for their children so they are in the best condition possible. Designer babies have become a popular topic today. Even though designer babies are in effect to create a parents “perfect” child, still comes with many concerns. Designer babies can have both negative and positive effects on society.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies: What is Ethical?

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    People should not have access to genetically altering their children because of people’s views on God and their faith, the ethics involving humans, and the possible dangers in tampering with human genes. Although it is many parent’s dream to have the perfect child, or to create a child just the way they want, parents need to realize the reality in genetic engineering. Sometimes a dream should stay a figment of one’s imagination, so reality can go in without the chance of harming an innocent child’s life.

    Read More

  • Genetic Engineering: Lessons from ANDi the Primate

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    To modify a human’s life is taking away the uniqueness and the flaws that makes the individual who they are. When using this process, the baby being created is no longer a natural living human. It is now considered as a man-made organism. The process commonly begins with in vitro fertilization (IVF) which costs a high amount of money. Parents that are willing to go to a doctor to create their babies are often allowed to change the physical aspects of their unborn child. Parents may choose from varieties of options such as eye color, intelligence, and gender; the physical process costs around 18,000 dollars (Naff 15). The idea of being able to control an unborn child to be better at life is concerning yet it is not the problem. The problem to the system is having to change, and challenge the most natural part of life. That is very questionable and very frightening because the outcome that is being aspired may not be the wanted

    Read More

  • Genetic Modification In Brave New World

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    Coker, Jeffrey Scott. "Genetic Engineering Is Natural and Should Be Pursued." Genetic Engineering, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

    Read More

  • Designer Babies

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    Should Parents be allowed to choose the Genetics of their Child? There are constantly new technologies that permit ideas most people have never even encountered. One of the most recent ideas consists of parents changing the genetics of their child; designer babies. These genetic alterations were first produced with a revolutionary technique, preimplantation, in the U.S in 2000, when Adam Nash was born.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies

    2069 Words  | 5 Pages

    Parents all have the tendency to want what is best for their children so that they can be in a perfect condition. Designer babies have become a popular topic today. Even though designer babies can be used to create a parent’s perfect child, many still have concerns. Designer babies can have both negative and positive effects; however, reports have only showed them having negative effects on our society. Doctors all believe that designing a baby can not only put the baby at risk, however, also our future society. The process of creating designer babies has not yet been reassured, which have only left doctors and others afraid of going through with this process. Designing a baby may seem easy, however the effects that these babies will bring, can only harm our society.

    Read More

  • Designer Babies

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many debilitating and severe unwanted diseases, genetic disorders and disabilities can be avoided through the creation of designer babies. A child's quality of life would be drastically increased if they evade Down Syndrome, deformities or heart disease for example. In a sense, it isn’t all that different to hearing aid, medication for an illness or chemotherapy for cancer, but on a larger scale and earlier in someone’s life, before it even really begins in fact. Some people would argue that changing genes is changing who people are, which they view as ‘wrong’, but genes aren’t exactly the only things that make up a person anyway. The way that they grow up and their surroundings also make people...

    Read More

More about Designer Babies: Genetic Engineering

Open Document