Genetic Engineering Children

Genetics is the driving force of individuality. Since the beginning of time, the offspring of procreation within the human species has been determined by essentially combining of one individual’s genetic code to another’s, with no way to guide the outcome of

which traits are passed on. But what if there was a choice? What if parents had the ability to “design” the perfect child, absent of traits unwanted like genetically inherited disease, short stature, brown eyes, and instead engineered to have desired traits like athleticism, intelligence, height, and whatever else a person could want in their children? After all, a parent wants the best for their children. Why not create a child that has the best chance at success in life? With recent

So what is the process of genetically engineering embryos? Two decades ago, the idea of designing children was only a concept written about in science fiction. Today, however, with the enhancement of in vitro fertilization and the science of genetics, this fictional idea is becoming more and more realistic. The process involves taking and artificially inseminating a female egg with male sperm and doing this many times over.

The artificially created embryos are then grown to the eight-cell stage and screened using micro assays to analyze for certain inherited generic traits. The parents then use the information produced by these screening tests to determine which embryo carries the desired traits and should be implanted into the mother’s uterus. The remaining embryos are either frozen or disposed of.1

This paper would argue that genetically engineering progeny is wrong. This topic presents the human race with a never before tackled moral dilemma. If children could be designed in vitro to be free of disease and have genetically superior traits, why would this be a bad thing? This paper would not argue against that aspect