Today I decided that an intriguing topic to discuss would be the concept of designer babies and what they could potentially mean for our world. In my last post on this blog I wrote a little bit about the potential issues that could arise as a result of this, but with this post I will be going more in depth on the issue and would could come from it.
First, a little background on what designer babies really are. According to The Embryo Project Encyclopedia at Arizona State University, designer babies are humans that are genetically engineered in vitro. They can be genetically engineered to have specific traits for example: a certain gender or genes that are disease-free or resistant to certain diseases. You also might think that designer babies must be a new concept, but you would be wrong. In as early as 2004 the term “designer baby” was officially entered into the Oxford English Dictionary. Using in vitro fertilization is considered a form of gene editing by some and it is nothing new in the world of reproductive medicine—the first in vitro fertilized baby was born in 1978. Since then, many babies have been conceived this way if the parents had trouble with infertility or if the parents carry genes that may put their children at risk to contract serious genetic diseases.
The first ever case of a true “designer baby” did not occur until the late 90’s. In 1996 a couple from Fairfax, Virginia used in vitro fertilization as a means to ensure that their third child would be a girl—they already had two boys and they wanted a daughter to complete their designer family. Something worth considering when discussing in vitro fertilization would be the cost. According to a fertility website in vitro fertilization will start at around $12,000 for the first cycle and for each additional needed cycle the costs would be roughly $7,000. This is not where the costs stop though, for each cycle a patient would need fertility medications which can cost between $1,500 to $5,000 per cycle.
Obviously, these costs are not feasible for all people. This is where a few ethical issues can be found. For those who cannot afford in vitro fertilization it may seem unfair that it possibly puts their children at a greater risk to develop or be born with genetic diseases or conditions that those with more money can have edited out of their children. Also something to think about, the people who can afford to go through with in vitro fertilization may have a better ability to get good healthcare for any potential problems their child would have. Whereas those who cannot afford in vitro fertilization probably would not have the money or the best health care plans that would allow them the best possible help for any potential sick kids. Basically, if genetic diseases and disorders were to be eradicated in the wealthier parts of society, the already less fortunate would be stuck trying to navigate an extremely expensive healthcare system to support their child putting them at an even greater disadvantage.
An important question to ask would be where do doctors and others in the medical field stand on this issue. Well, according to the Council of Ethical and Judicial Affairs, it is acceptable to go through with genetic selection and manipulation if it is with the purpose to prevent, cure or treat genetic disease. On the other hand it is not ethical to engage in genetic selection or manipulation for “benign traits” unless three specific criteria are satisfied. These criteria are: “a clear and meaningful benefit to the child, there could be no trade-off with other characteristics or traits, and all citizens would have to have equal access to the genetic technology, irrespective of income or other socioeconomic characteristics.” Though it is important to recognize that these are not laws, they are rules for physicians who are members of the American Medical Association (AMA) and the penalty for not adhering to these rules would be a loss of membership.
Another potential ethical issue with designer babies would be the extreme socioeconomic divide it could cause. I briefly mentioned this in my last post, but it’s worth bringing up again. If it became commonly available for people to pick out their children’s traits as long as they could afford the price we would begin to see the wealthier people separate themselves psychically from everyone else. Imagine a world where you could pay to have your child be everything you want them to be. It would simply be unfair to the less wealthy who would not be able to afford to pick out their traits, still be reliant upon the genetic lottery.
Designer babies are certainly a concept that have had a positive impact in our world today. However, if we let things slip and people attempt to abuse the technology we could see some major issues arise as a result of this powerful technology.
I never realized that the idea of designer babies has been around for so long. I thought that this was a very new concept in the medical field and was completely oblivious that the first designer baby case occurred in the 90s. There is an obvious ethical issue here and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the future. I really liked the outline that the Council of Ethical and Judicial Affairs set for this topic. I think that as long as these principles are followed, designer babies will not be an issue.
I think the idea of designer babies are kind of unethical but practical, but the pros outweigh cons a lot more. It is really cool to hear that we humans have the technique to solve the problem about hereditary diseases and so on, this would make the society much healthier and happier. And I agree the importance of controlling the technology, trying to avoid technology controlling our society. Moreover, this kind of technique can only be afforded by the wealthiest authority figures in the world, so to get this into a normal family such as ours is going to be a long wait.
This would be terrifying for future generations of society if we allowed people to pay for their children. Back in high school biology class, I watched a movie called GATTACA where everyone working at a certain company was genetically engineered except for one guy. Everyone that was genetically engineered was exceptionally smart and good at everything except for the main character. The movie portrayed a huge divide between those who were genetically engineered and the regular people of society. Hopefully this doesn’t become reality for us. Socioeconomic issues, as you mentioned, would arise, and we can’t let technology dominate society.
I think that this is an interesting topic that should be more widely known, as I have only slightly heard of it once, but I wasn’t told if it had been done or not. It certainly could be a world changing event if people started becoming immune to deadly diseases or became “superhuman,” but I do agree that if it does cost money there will be a split between the rich and the poor. I also found your point about healthcare relating to the rich and poor very insightful, as I never would have thought to connect the two. My only thought is that even with the potential split, it might be beneficial to have people make their kids “better” as it could lead to greater scientific discoveries and potentially making it cheaper for everyone.