Biology issues investigation Zoe Skoumbros SACE Number: 798439F
Should parents have the right to select the embryo of their child to prevent them from developing diseases?
Designer babies are those that have had alterations to their genes in order to eradicate a specific gene or ensure that a gene is not present in the DNA of the baby. These babies are generally engineered in vitro for specially selected traits through IVF which allows pre selection before implantation. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) allows embryos to be screened for genetic traits such as sex linked diseases which can be used to select the embryo with the healthiest genes. Such techniques help to improve the overall health of children; however, …show more content…
The first step involves undergoing normal in vitro fertilization (IVF) to collect and fertilize the eggs. The embryo is grown in the laboratory using cell culture, for two or three days or until the embryo has grown to entail about eight cells. One or two of the cells (blastocyst) are extracted from the embryo by a professional embryologist and tested for abnormalities such as genetic diseases. The embryo that is unaffected by any disease is selected and transferred to the womb to develop. Any other unaffected embryos are immediately frozen using verification (Keck School of Medicine, 2016). Selecting embryos not only helps to diminish risk of acquiring disease, but also reduces the chances of late pregnancy …show more content…
The technology has not been developed for long enough to see the long term effects over several generations. There is the possibility that there may be significant negative side effects as a result of genetically modifying embryos over a series of generations. It would also create a gap in society, as the technology would only be available to the wealthy due to the costs involved. Such tasks would not be government funded as they are not a necessity, similar to most plastic surgery. Whether the baby is a designer baby or not, would create social issue due to genetically engineered children feeling superior. This could also go the other way, in that genetically engineered are targets for bullies due to their differences that their parents selected. There are also moral and ethical implications due to the embryonic cells that are removed and not used, which will be discarded linked to an abortion. Genetic engineering also violates the child’s rights as they have no say of how their genes are being selected, as they are unable to voice their concerns as an embryo, foetus or even a baby (FutureForAll.org,
Should parents have the right to select the embryo of their child to prevent them from developing diseases?
Designer babies are those that have had alterations to their genes in order to eradicate a specific gene or ensure that a gene is not present in the DNA of the baby. These babies are generally engineered in vitro for specially selected traits through IVF which allows pre selection before implantation. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) allows embryos to be screened for genetic traits such as sex linked diseases which can be used to select the embryo with the healthiest genes. Such techniques help to improve the overall health of children; however, …show more content…
The first step involves undergoing normal in vitro fertilization (IVF) to collect and fertilize the eggs. The embryo is grown in the laboratory using cell culture, for two or three days or until the embryo has grown to entail about eight cells. One or two of the cells (blastocyst) are extracted from the embryo by a professional embryologist and tested for abnormalities such as genetic diseases. The embryo that is unaffected by any disease is selected and transferred to the womb to develop. Any other unaffected embryos are immediately frozen using verification (Keck School of Medicine, 2016). Selecting embryos not only helps to diminish risk of acquiring disease, but also reduces the chances of late pregnancy …show more content…
The technology has not been developed for long enough to see the long term effects over several generations. There is the possibility that there may be significant negative side effects as a result of genetically modifying embryos over a series of generations. It would also create a gap in society, as the technology would only be available to the wealthy due to the costs involved. Such tasks would not be government funded as they are not a necessity, similar to most plastic surgery. Whether the baby is a designer baby or not, would create social issue due to genetically engineered children feeling superior. This could also go the other way, in that genetically engineered are targets for bullies due to their differences that their parents selected. There are also moral and ethical implications due to the embryonic cells that are removed and not used, which will be discarded linked to an abortion. Genetic engineering also violates the child’s rights as they have no say of how their genes are being selected, as they are unable to voice their concerns as an embryo, foetus or even a baby (FutureForAll.org,