Genetic Engineering in Humans Essay

a need is being creating where no problem existed before, namely the desirability of a

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).

I support the guidelines outlined by Kitcher for the use of genetic information because of their responsible and ethical nature. I believe that future generations will benefit as a direct consequence of these guidelines. I shall begin by defining eugenics as the study of human genetics to improve inherited characteristics of the human race by the means of controlled selective breeding.

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.

The purpose of this essay is to look at the Bioethics in relation to “Designer Babies” as dubbed by the media. Bioethics is the study of the ethical and moral implications of new biological discoveries and biomedical advances in this scenario to do with embryo modifications. A designer baby is a dream to some people and a nightmare to others. This is a difficult topic and this essay hopes to bring a balanced view on both sides that there are definite benefits and needs, however they need to be countered with oversight to prevent misuse of new reproductive technologies.

Progress in biotechnology is making the concept of "designer babies" more likely and according to leading scientists in the field, society should “be prepared”. A “designer baby’s” genetics have been selected and modified, deriving from its naturally inherited ones in order to eliminate a defect in particular, or to simply ensure a particular gene is present in their genetic makeup. The idea of designing your own baby is a controversial one, but arguments against it are astoundingly higher when parents are given the availability to pick and choose physical traits not affecting the child’s health.

Opposition to genetic engineering is also rooted in the (reasonable) fear that unregulated editing of the human genome will lead to a dystopian society. If humans should take control of the genetic composition of themselves or their children, it is certain that choice would establish an artificial selection pressure against negatively perceived traits. When followed to its logical

Scientists today are developing ways to edit the DNA of human embryos. Although people think the positives out shine the negatives when enhancing an embryos health chances, that is not always the case socially when the child is born. Parents create this picture in their mind of the perfect child that they want when they find out they are pregnant, this child most often times has eyes as blue as the sky, blonde hair like sand at the beach, and a smile that lights up the world like the sun. A dad wants a son to play football, but the son wants to do theatre; a mom wants a daughter who does pageants, but the daughter wants to be a boxer. When these details start developing in a couples ' mind they can get selfish. Parents can develop a child to have the characteristics they want them to have; however, that does not mean that is who the child will be. The children in these cases do not have a say in what they should have, they are not even created yet. Parents can be eager and obsessed with a child who has the best features and capability to do whatever it is the parents wants them to do. The spread of what citizens are calling "designer babies" should have limits to what guardians can choose to improve health chances is a right choice but enhancing all a child 's characteristics is all wrong.

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.

What if you could design your child before it was even born? What if you could cut out any life threatening diseases, make sure that your child is not susceptible to smoking addictions or alcoholism, and then make your child genius? Would you? Are you asking yourself how this could be done? Have you ever considered human genetic engineering?

Some people may argue that the genetic modification of human beings should be allowed for a variety of reasons. Genetically modifying a zygote’s or embryo’s DNA may possibly reduce the risk of the child growing up with a dangerous or even fatal genetic disorder his or her parents may have had the gene(s) for. Others may argue that a child’s parents deserve the right to decide exactly what they want their child to be like. For example, some parents may want their child to be more athletic rather than academic, and vice versa. A child’s genes will never be 100% predictable when he or she is conceived naturally, so there is a high likelihood that there will be physical differences in his or her looks when compared to the parents. The parents might want the child to look like them by having the same eye color, hair color, face shape, or even body shape. Although modifying a baby to fit one’s expectations and desires may seem like a great thing to do, there are several reasons why it is not the right choice.

Is evolution important? What if it was possible to eliminate undesired traits and disease? Eugenics is the idea that future generations can be improved through the selection of desirable characteristics. Some find eugenics to be taboo and artificial. Others find it to be the key to improving the gene pool of the human population (“Sir Francis Galton”). By learning more about the origin, use, and effects of eugenics, one can better speculate on its place in society today.

Societies debate against each other on whether or not genetic engineering in humans should be used in humans. When using this type of research and technology in humans, it means modifying the type of organism(in this case humans) by manipulating the genes to the standards society thinks is the best. Scientists think humans should use genetic engineering towards curing diseases while other scientists think humans should use this new technology towards creating new babies and modifying the child to societal standards. Using this technology and new ways of life has positive and negative effects towards the human population. With this new technology societies are able to cure diseases, create better medicines, create better transplants, and have the ability to live longer.

The manipulation of human biology has always been a controversial issues. To many, purposefully changing the genetics of mankind is reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and even the eugenics of Nazi Germany. However, genetic manipulation offers an unignorable potential to help many people live lives with fewer serious health issues. These two opposing viewpoints are why genetic manipulation, like the creation of designer babies, is so heated. According to “Introduction,” Designer babies are “...children whose genetic characteristics have been artificially selected or modified to ensure specific intellectual and cosmetic characteristics.” The creation of designer babies is done through a process called preimplantation genetic

Genetic engineering has developed to target specific modifications in the genome of living organisms for a desired outcome. To assist in the process, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been developed to create insertions and deletions in chosen genes allowing for the alteration and analysis of phenotypic changes resulting from the targeted mutations (Bassett et al., 2013). This is significant for determining the role of various proteins, examining methods to insert new genes into organisms, and for the potential to examine human disease models in organisms. For the purposes of this review article, the CRISPR/Cas9 system will specifically be talked about with regards to genetic modification of the Drosophila fruit fly due to the flies relative short life span and ability to design experiments over multiple generations in short time periods, as well as a comparison of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to alternate methods of genetic engineering.