The Pros And Cons Of Having A Designer Baby

Throughout history, a baby would come into the world as a surprise. Recent technology has created several methods allowing the parents to pick physical and personality traits for their baby. Designer babies--the term used for babies produced by these technologies--have the description of holding perfect qualities. After the first designer baby came into the world, the concept of having a designer baby came into question; the process of having a designer baby has many ethical consequences and medical benefits that have caused scientist to research and contemplate this new process.
Several different technologies and methods can help to make designer babies. Editing a targeted genome and inserting, deleting, or replacing the desired genome created

a technology known as genome editing. Nuclease, a cutting enzyme in the DNA, gets inserted into a cell and breaks the DNA. After nuclease breaks the DNA, the nuclease takes out the nonessential genome. The DNA produces a synthetic sequence that restores the nonessential genome; two strands are then put back together. (Should) This method set a basic principle for future designer baby technologies and procedures.
CRISPR, the technique that came from genome editing (Should), grants scientist the power to make precise changes to the DNA easier than ever before (Stein 1). Using RNA to guide the nuclease, CRISPR comes into contact with more base pairs. Because this technique comes into contact with more base pairs, CRISPR can edit the traits more precisely with less risk of defects. Scientists have began to research the possibility of CRISPR curing some diseases in the embryos before the baby is born. CRISPR, the most recent of the technique, has derived from genome editing. (Should)
In vitro fertilization helped make designer babies a reality. Couples with infertility problems tend to use in vitro fertilization. To help with chances of conception, this procedure allows a look into the embryos. The scientist look at the embryos and select those with the best chances of conception and least chances of birth defects. (Ly 1) Even though scientist pre-select the embryos, not all cases of in vitro fertilization have ended in a birth. The Hashmis tried to use in vitro fertilization to have a designer baby made to help their existing child with a fatal disease. The mother went through six cycles of in vitro fertilization before deserting future attempts. (Aznar 3) New techniques have surfaced that, with more research, can be used without in vitro fertilization (Ly 1).
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis lets the scientist and doctors screen usable embryos for specific genetic traits. To help cure certain diseases, this technology can find embryos that do not carry certain genetic diseases or traits. (Ly 1) Parents that have hereditary or genetic disease would use this technology to find an embryo that is free of the certain disease (Aznar 1). Using these techniques and technologies, the curing of genetic diseases has begun, but these methods can able manipulation for the use of the production of designer babies (Ly 1).
The prospect of designer babies has always existed, but now the technology has caught up with the thought of designer babies.

Fortunately, 500 scientist, doctors, and others attended an International Summit on Human Gene Editing (ISHGE).The delegates discussed the ethical repercussions of designer babies. At this summit, scientists discussed the technologies’ pros and cons. By the end of the summit, the scientist agreed that it would be “irresponsible to proceed” and research is “clearly needed and should proceed.” (Stein 1) Although the scientist decided that the technology needs further research, but the pros and cons weigh heavily on their

minds.
The technologies that can make designer babies can, also, cure diseases. With the ability to look into the embryos, the technology gives the parents a chance to make a baby that could help cure a child already born with a disease. (Ly 1) The scientist can find genes with the disease and replace the diseased gene with a healthy gene (Should). A designer baby produced to help cure Molly Nash, Adam Nash came into the world, after four unsuccessful attempts, and gave Molly blood from his umbilical cord. This blood cured Molly from her disease. (Aznar 3) Many designer babies came into the world to help cure family members from genetic diseases. This use of the technologies brought scientist to think about abandoning future attempts to ban the technology.
An argument in favor of designer babies says that parents already have control over what their child will develop into.

Some scientist have said that parents have the right to decide the fate of their child. (Ly 1) According to bioethicist James Hughes, “If you think women have the right to control their bodies, then they should be able to make this choice.” James also believe that the term “designer babies” insults parents. The term insinuates that the parents do not think about the child when making the decision to design the child. (Naff 37) However, parents possess certain control over their child by selecting the environment the child grows up in. This choice helps pardon some ethical concerns associated with selection of traits for designer babies. (Ly 1)
The scientists at the ISHGE decided designer babies needed more research because the arguments against designer babies. Designer babies can help to cure a family member with a certain disease, but this designer baby would have to undergo many medical procedures to help this family member. From a scientist point of view, consent from the child has created an ethical concern. The production of designer babies have been considered “a violation of the rights of the donor child who cannot give its consent for this action.” (Aznar

11)
When designer babies come into the world, the process, if it works, uses hundreds of embryos. The Chicago Reproductive Genetics Institute gathered data regarding the amount of embryos used to create designer babies. In 2005, the Institute produced 466 embryos and used 435 of these embryos; the scientists and doctors only transferred 55 useful embryos. From these 55 embryos, the Institute received seven pregnancies; only five of these pregnancies brought the embryos to term. (Aznar 19) A great insight into human biology, embryos carry human DNA that could harvest important information (Stein 1). The Chicago Reproductive Genetics Institute ran many trials over the loss of embryos. Accurately, the results of every trial had efficiencies of less that three percent. When scientist have recognized other methods to cure diseases, scientist have said that the loss of life is unethical. (Aznar 14) The ethical repercussions factor into the future of designer babies.
After being described as “playing God,” scientist looked at designer babies from all aspects (Naff 12). Economic and social, divisions came into question. A division between those that can afford and cannot afford the procedure will arise. With the wealthy having an edge, the social and economic standards of the poor will lower an exponential amount. Designer babies and non designer babies will turn into the upper and lower class. Growing divisions, the designer babies will change society. The prospect of this division has scientist and doctors looking into the ethics of designer babies. (Ly 1)
The process of having a designer baby costs up to 18 thousand dollars (Naff 14). With the procedure costing a large amount of money, wealthy couples are the only people that can afford to have a designer baby (Ly 1). Dr. Jamie Grifo, director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at the NYU School of Medicine, declared, “You have to go through IVF. It costs a lot of money. It doesn’t always work.” For 18 thousand dollars, most couples expect the process to have a positive outcome each time, but the probability of having a viable fetus is not likely. (Naff 15) The cost of this procedure creates an ethical problem and an economic division between parents who can afford and want to afford this procedure.
With technology recently starting to grow into a reality, designer babies are a relatively new concept. The International Summit on Human Gene Editing brought 500 of the brightest minds together to discuss the prospect of designer babies. After four days of speeches and discussions, these minds decided designer babies need more research. (Stein 1) Ethical consequences outnumber the benefits, right now. The technology, comparatively new, can have advancements made to it. Technology growing, designer babies might, one day, have a fix to the ethical consequences. Will designer babies develop into an international phenomenon, or will the ethical consequences continue to outnumber the benefits?