Designer Babies & Gene Splicing
March 23, 2010
Filed under Opinion
Everyone has their own views on what is perfect or beautiful. Some people believe that a certain hair or eye color is better than another. New technological advances occur daily that open up new possibilities into the scientific realm, especially in the area of gene splicing and designer babies. By definition, a designer baby is one in which the traits of the child have been genetically altered via interventions made into pre-implantation embryos.
At the present time, in terms of the traits their children are born with, parents get what they get. But the topic of designer babies opens up the questions: What if they had the choice to make that perfect child, a child free of human flaws, undesirable traits, and appalling abnormalities? We design our own homes, our wardrobe, sometimes even our own occupation. As I see it, there is nothing wrong with designing our own children.
Imagine this: You are a carrier for a disease such as cystic fibrosis and you have a 50 percent chance of passing on the disease through your genes. Scientists may soon be able to go in and remove genes from the DNA strand in the embryo. Designer babies could be the end to all genetic diseases, eliminating the risk of death in newborns or maybe just providing a better life for children. Consider the financial, emotional, and physical relief a family would gain by such a procedure.
The potential for designer babies would offer expecting parents more of an advantage during this period in their lives which is often full of unknowns. It is human nature for parents to want to protect their children, born and unborn. Most parents strive to mold and influence their children so that they have every possible advantage to succeed in life. What parent doesn’t want their child to be healthy, intelligent, and talented? Since parents are already influencing their children’s development, what could be the harm in having their work accomplished before birth with a little help from gene splicing?
While technology now enables parents to select the sex of their child, money may be the only obstacle in the future to allow parents the opportunity to select the skin tone, body shape, and eye and hair color for their offspring. One day all children may be the beautiful blonde, blue-eyed super model that seems to have become the ideal to which many aspire. Removing undesirable traits from being passed on may be even more exciting to some. Genes that are responsible for obesity and addictions could be eliminated from the human race, thus creating a more perfect world population.
A perfect world is within our grasps. Designer babies could be our first step into the future of understanding and controlling human genetics. It could be the end of all terminal diseases, racism, and even body image issues such as weight or height. The future is before us now; reach out and take it.
It is unethical for parents to be able to interfere with nature. Imagine how genetically altered children would feel later in life if they found out they were supposed to be the opposite sex, but their parents didn’t want them to be. One can only imagine their feelings of confusion, anger, and fear. But would researchers and scientists care? No. The field of science is no longer just an obscure hobby for the Albert Einsteins and Galileos of the world. Science is a career, and those involved in this career make serious money. Ethics go flying out the window as long as they receive their paychecks.
No action exists without a form of consequence. Researchers found that adding a certain gene to mice made them better at running mazes, but they also became hyper-sensitive to pain. The possibility of similar or worse side effects for humans cannot be ignored. There is no way of knowing for sure until humans themselves are tested. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be their choice, but the choice of the parents of an unborn baby. If experimentation has a nasty side effect, that child would have to live with it for the rest of his or her life.
What is even scarier is that some genes may be related to personality and IQ. If future parents are able to choose these options for their children, the world will be presented with a serious issue. Variety would soon diminish as “designer” children begin to dominate classrooms. At first, to some it may sound nice. What’s not to like about being one step closer to perfection? The truth is, people cannot live without variety. While opportunities must be equal, abilities should not. Not everyone has the intelligence of a rocket scientist or the charisma of a lawyer – it is simply unrealistic to expect. We cannot allow science to create perfect children. A civilization needs average and below average people as much as it needs intelligent people, especially in terms of our nation’s work force.
Scientists and parents alike need to become aware of the gene splicing line that should not be crossed. Imperfections make a person unique. Nature must have continued allowance to go its own way.
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