June 24th, 2075.
Imagine you walk into a store, but instead of “Build-a-Bear”, its “Build-a-Baby”.
Cute, right? You get to build your own little baby doll, adorable! It’ll be the perfect little doll you always dreamed of, with curly brown hair, light blue eyes and freckles. Maybe you can actually have a conversation with it, maybe it has real tears… maybe a… real heart?
That’s the questions of the century. Could parents actually choose to genetically modify their baby? The idea is slowly becoming a reality, known as a designer baby.
A designer baby is known as a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected, according to this website.
Today, the science is limited to allowing parents and doctors to screen embryos and genetic disorders and select health embryos, according to Bionet. This science, though sometimes controversial, could reduce the chance that a child is born with a genetic disorder. According to the article, the only two legal processes of advanced reproduction are choosing the sperm to fertilize an egg which in turn determines the sex and genes of the baby, and Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), which screens embryos for genetic diseases.
However, the future fear is that scientists and doctors will be able to genetically modify the embryo to decide certain “desirable trains or cosmetic characteristics,” in essence a designer baby. Scientists, specifically Dr. Steinberg have recently made rapid advancements in the knowledge of our human genome, as well as the ability to modify and change genes.
Scientists are also developing a method known as Germ Line Therapy, which is though to be able to cure diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis but replacing the certain sects of DNA. Currently, it is illegal to do on humans.
This topic is very common and very controversial. Personally, I believe that this new science goes against the ethics of science, as we’ve commonly discussed in class.
Being able to test the health of a child is a wonderful technological advancement. Being able to prepare parents for the possibility of an underdeveloped or special needs child before they arrive is also great. What is not great is the possibility that a parents could choose the specific traits of their child, including intelligence and athletic abilities. Not only is this unethical, it also poses many questions, such as the limits to this science and where and when this should be allowed. According to an article posted on Livescience, this technology is not too far in the future.
A company known as 23andme and recently awarded a patent to test the ability to choose hair color, athletic aptitude, according to the article (read more about the company here.) This does not change the fact that a child’s personal identity is not dependent on their physical traits. A child could be cloned as a supermodel, and their individual characteristic leads them to be a technician instead.
There are endless pros and cons to this touchy subject. Some pros include: reduced risk of genetic disease, mental conditions, etc., increased life span, prevent future generations from inheriting harmful genes/diseased. The cons include: termination of embryos, a genetic “gap” in society due to lack of diversity, damage gene pool, disregard baby’s choice, loss of individuality.
I am pleased with this research; however, would like these studies to further elaborate on the future regulations that could be posed on this developing science. It is undeniable that our world is ever-changing and that science will continue to pose questions of ethics and morals, but this topic is one that could potentially impact the entire world. I would like to know what the government is doing to work with scientists to develop this new technology, and how the government plans to regulate it. Also, it would be important to note which countries allow for genetic screening, and which are simply opposed to the idea all together. Also, could the future and safety of our children be at risk?
For now, I’m going to continue my life knowing I am 50% my mother, 50% my father and 0% science, even if that means I’m 5’2” with a medium build, frizzy hair and oily skin.
Wow that is crazy! If I were that parent my biggest thought would be, “what if they mess up?”. I’m sure that this is going to become a huge controversy in the near future when the science advances a little more and the details changed about your child can become more and more specific. It almost sounds like this is going to lead to a world full of genetically altered super humans or something. Maybe not quite as dramatic as “super humans” but if everyone is genetically altering their kids for generation after generation I wonder where it would lead to after a handful of generations? Possibly some pretty crazy stuff!
WOW I loved this article! I always think about I what is actually going to happen in the future. I remember a few years ago there was information about the way to possibly get your baby to have a certain eye color and hair color, I thought it was absolutely insane! I understand the want to have your baby look a certain way, but not to the extent that you’re actually scientifically modifying your baby to morph them into a perfect human. Just like you said, I agree with you completely when you say being able to test a child for any health factors is a great advantage. It is true, parents need to be prepared for what is about to come when they have their baby, and if the baby has any health defects it is very beneficial to parents to be prepared. You have also brought up another important point about how unethical it actually is to be able to modify a child’s mental capacity. That is extremely insane, I thought that in the past and I feel like I will always have this belief, even if it does become the most up and coming fad. Thanks for bringing up this new scientific step for humanity! I am happy to know I’m 0% science too!