Argumentative Essay On Designer Babies

The idea of designer babies has been present in science fiction literature and films for decades. From Huxley’s novel Brave New World, in which babies are grown in vats and there is no such thing as family, to the 1997 film Gattaca, in which children who are genetically engineered are considered superior and a person’s value is based entirely on their DNA (Molina, 2016).

A Brave New World published in 1932 by Aldous Huxley was about a utopian society in which people were placed in castes because of how their embryos were modified. Little did the author know less than a century later the idea of “designer babies” might be a reality. Designer babies are very similar to Huxley’s idea; a person could be genetically altered before they were born. Unlike Huxley’s book, in which embryos were genetically modified due to government industrial control, designer babies’ destinies are determined by parental control. Although, gene alteration can prevent genetic diseases, predetermining genetic outcomes should be illegal because of its negative effects on society; the effect genes have on each other, and the underwhelming success rate.

We are living is a world where very soon it will be possible for people to create ‘designer babies’ that have all the features they wish for. In the article Building Baby from the Genes Up, Ronald M. Green talks about all the positive impacts that genetic modification of human beings can have on our future generations. Green acknowledges some of the negatives such as parents creating perfect children and being able to give them any trait the parent wants. However in the end he comes to the conclusion that the positive impacts of getting rid of genes that cause obesity, cancer, learning disorders, and many other diseases and disorders, outweighs the negative aspects. Richard Hayes, author of Genetically Modified Humans? No Thanks, takes the stance that we should not be able to change anything about human beings through genetic modification. He believes that once we start modifying a few features, it will slowly turn into every parent altering as many of their babies’ genes that they want. While he does acknowledge the positive impacts of getting rid of negative genes such as Tay-Sachs, he believes that it is not worth the risk of having parents manipulate all their future children’s genes to their liking. Green and Hayes stand on opposite sides of the debate about genetic modification of human beings and this essay will explore the similarities and the differences of their articles.

Though it is evident that the concept of “Designer Babies” would prove unpopular amongst the majority of society, there still remains to be advocates for a future compromising of GM children. It is argued that gene technology will bring about a new age of human beings who are happier, smarter and healthier. Supporters look forward to a future when parents could quite literally assemble their children from genes listed in a catalogue. A future in which the health, appearance, personality and life span of our children become mere artefacts of genetic modification.

Picture a future where everyone is perfect, where judgment would not exist because no one is ugly, everyone is beautiful and flawless. In this “perfect” world each individual would be gifted in a specific category that they would excel in and go beyond what an average mundane could. This is a possible scenario we may encounter in the future if we allow the research of genetically- modified embryos (GM babies) to continue. Discussed by many, this topic has become increasingly popular. For some people this interests them in the sense that we can become the best versions of ourselves, simply by changing our genes. Another reason people support GM babies is that there is experiments that can prevent babies from being born with genetic health problems. Although the creation of these altered GM babies has some advantages, there are several problems that people must consider before we decide to go ahead with these plans. For example, genetic research will disrupt the natural order, which can lead to designer babies or GM babies born with side effects. The dangers of these experiments will greatly affect the world we live in. We must not rush into the practice of GM babies without letting the populations know the outcomes these GM babies can have in our society. Try to help everyone grasp the definition of GM babies and also explain how experiments on embryo can lead to designer babies.

This following essay will discuss about how the advantages of designer babies potentially act as the enhancer that emerge the harms in the society. It is just because of this advanced benefits that introduced the disadvantages of designer babies. It is likely that there will be both moral and safety objections as there has been for in vitro fertilization, stem cell science and early gene therapy. The moral objections range from concerns about the manipulation of the germline to worries about the patenting or commercialization of the technology itself. The safety concerns, much like we saw with early recombinant DNA research include both potential dangers to the offspring of patients treated and to the

CRISPR, gene transfer therapy, genetic testing, and in vitro fertilization have all lead us closer and closer to making “designer babies” possible. But, as a society are we ready to embrace a “designer baby generation”? Furthermore, are we ready to embrace people’s motives for participating in genetic modification? To me this is interesting because people’s motives for designing their baby can’t be judged. One could easily claim that by picking traits on their baby they are only trying to give the child the best life possible. How would one judge if a parent is attempting to normalize disability in their family or only wanting the “perfect child”? Does this give rise to another eugenics movement? And if we are trying to keep up with China- is this wrong? By doing so we would potentially advance society, however, would we advance society too fast? Will we overpopulate the

Have you heard of the new technology that allows parents to make their own perfect, desired child? Scientists are developing a technology called designer babies. Designer babies are essentially genetically engineered children that can also have artificially selected traits. This would lead to a powerful impact on society because there will be a clear division between the poor and wealthy due to the expenses of designer babies. There are dangerous risks, and in the long run, it will create more problems in the future. This is because there will be even more discrimination seeing that pure, non-genetically modified humans will become the inferior race (Thadani). Eventually, the genetically engineered race will take over the human race and this sort of technology may get into the wrong hands. The federal government should take action and quickly make laws to limit the use of the designer babies so the use of this technology will not get out of hand.

Science is now able to better improve human health and safety thanks to the advanced modern technology and medicine that are available. Yet with today's technology being implemented into science comes the questions of human morality, or bioethics. One of the bioethics debates is on the coined term “Designer babies”; on if or where society should draw the line on genetically altering our children before they are born. With the technology able to stop hereditary diseases, the scientific development’s are able to change the child’s “eye color, hair color, social intelligence, right down to whether or not your child would have a widow’s peak” before the child is born. From the options on choosing whether or not your child will look or act a certain

In 2004 the term “Genetic Babies” made it from sci-fi movies and weblogs to the Oxford dictionary which reflects the term becoming part of our everyday culture. The process can change genes, traits and defect particular defects, and ensure a healthy start to a child’s life. The forever growing strength of genetic technology may one day allow parents to adapt their unborn children, in order to spare their descendants from disease or, conceivably, make them tall, well-muscled, intellectual or otherwise gifted with appealing traits. However along with any new medical, high-tech treatment there is bounteous amounts of advantages and disadvantages that follow. Are the technologies of genetic modification safe

Parents who have a high risk of passing on a painful or fatal genetic disorder to their children often use the method of picking an embryo and determining whether or not the gene runs in them as well, some of the genes that could run in them include tay-sachs, cystic fibrosis, down syndrome, and hemophilia A. This gene can then be targeted, and taken out of the child ensuring that it will be safe from the almost inherited trait from one of its parents. This was the main purpose of this procedure when it was first developed by the English physician, Walter Heape (1855-1929). But it was later discovered that instead of taking out genes, some could be added. That is then how ‘designer babies’ started to be developed.

An important aspect which comes to the terms of making laws and prohibition of the ability to design or genetically modify your child revolves around the matter of ethics. Very controversial subject when you're being asked to speak on behalf of millions of people on what is right and wrong. In one article Embryo.ase.edu/pages/ethics-designer-babies they make sure to include a few scenarios that can help us define what ‘crossing the line’ would be. For example, when asked if being able to design babies is ethical you have to know who's the parent or guardian behind this. Being able to dispose of unwanted traits like obesity for example can be considered as ethical because it can cause health related problems in the future. Some would argue that this trait is something that can be avoided without the use of genetic engineering, which can be avoided sometimes yes, but is difficult and requires a

Although this may be the case in many areas of people’s lives today, it is not always beneficial, or necessary. People may have trouble deciding whether messing with human genes and cells is ethical. Designing the “perfect child” in many parent’s eyes becomes a harsh question of reality. The concept of a parent’s unconditional love for their child is questioned because of the desire to make their child perfect. If genetically engineering humans becomes a dominant medical option, people could have the chance to create their child however they like: from physical appearances, genetically enhanced genes, and the possibility to decide what a child thinks and acts, parents have access to designing their entire child. Naturally, people could be creating a super-human. Issues between different races, and eventually creating new prejudices against genetically engineered humans may increase. People may not realize how expensive genetic screening is at first. With only the rich being able to “enhance” their children, another social issue might occur, giving the world another type of people to outcast.

Imagine a world where having a baby was like looking through a menu at some fancy restaurant. Imagine being able to choose how a baby will look and act. As mind-boggling as it sounds, scientists and researchers came across an unbelievable discovery: it is possible to design and edit a baby however a person may like. Hanson asserts that personality, gender, appearance, intelligence, hair color, and height can be changed using technology that was originally used for animals (Hanson). These babies are called designer babies. Phillip Ball, a science writer, claims that it is possible to change the genetic makeup of an unborn baby using bio-technology. However, these changes can have more negative effects than positive. Although most countries have not legislated the use of genetic modification, studies have been done on human embryos in China (Ball).

How does it sound to walk into the doctor’s office, choose what attributes you want your baby to have, and then having that exact baby 9 months later? Although this may seem quite harmless to most, the negative effects of designer babies are tremendous: the lack of diversity in our population, violation of a specific set of laws designed to protect humans, going against Christian views, and even destroying the roots of human nature. With genetic engineering biotechnology, such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (or CRISPR), new and unique altercations are being done to revolutionize many aspects of our lives. Along with astounding benefits that can come from these biotechnologies, many people have come up with crazy ideas, such as these designer baby ideas, that could be potentially harmful to our society.