Designer Babies?

"Designer babies" is the term being used by the media to describe the future of modifying or selecting our children's genes for desirable characteristics (medical and cosmetic). Are things getting out of hand with our research into genetic processes? In this blog investigate social and ethical implications of this research and technologies that have been developed from it.

It is a part of human nature that we meddle with every little thing there is to meddle with. We try to change what we can to make ourselves and everyone else happier. We use science selfishly for our own benefits, ranging from things like cosmetic surgery, tummy tucks and the like. It goes against the days when major breakthroughs involved the discovery of electricity, the laws of gravity, and even the fact that the world revolved around the sun. Nowadays, we have even more impressive things to be proud of (e.g. cloning) but the purpose of these breakthroughs were to change what we already have. People never seem to be satisfied with what they are given and focus on how to change that. And now we have the concept of "designer babies" in which fetuses are genetically modified to suit the parents' desire.

This can be viewed in both an impressive and crude way. The fact that scientists are now able to genetically modify a fetus' genetic make up is absolutely mind blowing to say the least. The process involves a combination of in vitro fertilization and genetic engineering. It all starts with an embryo created by in vitro fertilization and then the genetic engineers then tweak and modify the embryo's genetic make up and DNA before inserting it inside the Mother's womb. The idea of creating your baby's genetic characteristics is something of the future and it is surprising that we have advanced so far as to do such a thing in present time.

However, the practice is still crude and unethical. I personally do not like the idea of cosmetic surgery at all, and the idea of modifying a baby's DNA irks me in all honesty. As much as I'd love for my child to look like the spawn of Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson, there is no way I'd genetically modify my child's DNA. Those who have developed such a science have been under scrutiny for it because it falls under the same category as abortion. Those who are pro-life are most likely to go against such a practice and indeed that is what's happened.

It is more commonly religious groups that look at this scientific discovery as absurdity. The fact that God is the one who created us brings up the fact that we should be happy with what we are given and to alter it is a sign of vanity. However, the reasoning behind the creation of "designer babies" isn't totally twisted. The original purpose of this was to be able to remove or change any genetic make up that may cause genetic deficiencies when the baby has developed. Human beings normally start off with good intentions, until different ideas are proposed, leading to these intentions to become lost along the way.



Through the discovery of genetic modification, the human race has taken yet another step forward in the world of science, but a step backward in ethics. What I've picked up from this is that we are capable of doing so much to help humanity, introducing new ways to prevent any genetic-spurned diseases by means of IVF or genetic engineering. But we still have to learn how to keep from going further than necessary with this kind of thing. Good intentions can easily waste away especially when one is blinded by success.

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Blog Comments: Dyrosha Ithayaneesan & Kim Abanador