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Why designer babies are bad
Why designer babies are bad
Ethical stand points on designer babies
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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. The question is present to many people when talking about it, “What is a designer baby?” A designer baby is a baby whose genetic makeup has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present (Oxford Dictionary). Designer babies can be seen as a disgrace or as a genetic miracle. To make a designer baby, technology is a main factor. Technology is …show more content…
There are bioethics arguing that parents have the right to parental autonomy, which grants the right to decide the gender of their baby (Ly, Sarah). Although it is believe people have been influenced that the gender of their babies has to do with timing of conception, types of positions performed, and the food consumed when the embryo was developing (Gender Selection of Babies). It has been known that these specific methods are not one hundred percent effective, some people are finding it exceptionally easier to go to the doctor and have the embryo genetically engineered to their specific preferences (Regalado, Antonio). Some people are just looking at the few positive effects of designer babies, and are not getting the full research before putting not only themselves, but their future children through. Sheldon Krimsky, a philosopher at Tufts University, argued that people have already genetically engineered animals and crops. and when they failed they simply threw them out, but what happens when genetically engineering a baby goes wrong (Genetically Engineered …show more content…
It is not a simple process to undergo for the mom, either parents, and even the embryo. Some observers say that genome modification is likely to become a routine familiarity as time goes on (Gender Selection of Babies). One major factor of the legalization or illegalization of designer babies is the one of gender selection. If the United States allows anyone, and everyone to choose the gender of their genome, gender balance can become a major problem (Gender Selection of Babies). On the other hand, with selection of genomes, can save people from running into disorders or diseases that only the y chromosome contains, and can excel their chances for a healthier baby perhaps (Gender Modified
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 ...
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...
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.
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.
A gynaecologist can easily perform an ultrasound and tell parents what gender to expect their child to be. Reasonably, parents have the choice to learn the gender or to keep it a surprise. However, For parents to know they are expecting a daughter by chance or for them to choose that they want a daughter are two different cases. There are a variety of methods that allow parents to choose the gender of their child. In some cases, there may be fear of passing down a sex-linked genetic disease and so a certain gender may be preferred to protect the child’s health. However, a contentious issue is whether or not gender selection for non-medical reasons is ethically defensible. There are three positions that one could take: gender selection can never, sometimes, or always be ethically defended. In this paper, I intend to argue that gender selection is always permissible.
...ce and male to female ratio. G.I Serour states: “It is argued that gender selection for nonmedical reasons will reinforce this male preference pattern, lead to a serious distortion of the sex ratio, identify gender as a reason to value one person over another, or contribute to society's gender stereotyping.” (Transcultural Issues In Gender Selection). In conclusion many of the signs point to the idea and practice of gender selection being unethical and an immoral concept. Selecting the gender of your child for nonmedical reasons before it naturally happens is unethical and also unsafe. Introducing destructive processes and tools into the body is bad enough on its own but using them while a baby is developing is absolutely absurd. Babies should have the opportunity to naturally develop into what they were meant to be, not what their parents would prefer them to be.
A man and woman walk into an office where they are greeted by a fertility specialist, who then sets them in front of a computer. Here, the couple is able to scroll through various traits and characteristics, then mix and match them onto a computer generated infant so they can see how their chosen attributes will look when paired together. The man and woman decide on a baby boy with cornsilk blonde hair and emerald green eyes. Their future son will grow to 6 feet tall with an athletic build, have a genius IQ, and a predisposition for baseball. The doctor takes their order, and then schedules an appointment with the soon-to-be-parents to implant the embryo containing all those traits into the mother. While this scene may seem like a moment out of a science fiction novel, it is not too far off what very well may be available in the near future. Medical sciences and technologies are advancing rapidly, and in a society completely preoccupied with obtaining perfection, it should be no surprise to anyone that scientists are playing around with the idea of genetically engineering perfect humans. It is one thing to make the decision to enhance oneself with things like plastic surgery, steroids, collagen, herbal supplements, and so on. There is also nothing wrong with studying hard and practicing in a certain skill to reach expertise. But is it right to decide the fate of a child before he or she even has a chance to decide what they want for their self? Not only is there the sheer matter of right versus wrong, but there also many serious consequences to using such extreme sciences. Because these are new, experimental technologies, there is no predicting what adverse medical effects genetic modification could have on a child. Another plight...
Institute of Biological Sciences. (n.d.). Designer Babies: Ethical Considerations (ActionBioscience). ActionBioscience - promoting bioscience literacy. Retrieved July 8, 2010, from http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/agar.html?print
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.
Furthermore, another reason why creating designer babies is not ideal is that it will weaken diversity and uniqueness in our world. With human genetic engineering, humanity
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.
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...
Elective sex selection seems to be a little bit more controversial than sex selection for medical use (“Gender Selection of Babies”). The parents select the sex of their baby that they prefer to have for different reasons. One reason being that parents might have planned one raising a boy or girl. Another reason being for family balancing issues (“Gender Selection of Babies”). Without sex selection as an option parents have to keep trying to have babies to get the desired gender they want.
Ever wondered if a mother has the possibility to choose the desired gender of the child? Gender selection is a procedure that offers a couple the opportunity to choose the sex of an unborn child. Many believe that Gender selection is a very dangerous procedure. They think that the cost is very expensive and not worth it.