Introduction
Designer babies used to be something that was only in science fiction books, but now, scientists are very close to being able to create them. There are many unknowns with designer babies such as will they be used to create healthier babies only, or will everything be about making the “perfect” looking baby. That is just one example of many. However, what could possibly be one of the most harmful consequences of designer babies is a reduced gene pool that could be caused by the elimination of certain genes, and that is unethical because it could have huge negative impacts on future generations.
Background
Before a person can understand all of the potential consequences of creating a designer baby, he or she must first understand …show more content…
A woman was able to know that the gene she had that caused a specific disease would not be passed on to her kids even though under normal circumstances there would be a 50 percent chance of the gene being passed on (Moyer). However, this is the basis of what is so scary about designer babies. If people figure out what genes tend to cause problems and check embryos for them, they will get rid of certain genes. That might not be a bad thing; however, those genes could have a benefit or function that people are unaware of. That is why it is so risky to get rid of or mess with specific …show more content…
The reason for that is that even if people can somehow prove that there will be no negative side effect of creating designer babies, this will most likely never happen, people will still have to decide if they are ethical. There are tons of ethical questions related to designer babies, including the deletions of genes that by its self makes designer babies unethical. Another important question that comes up a lot is “would designer babies increase the gap between the rich and poor?” The reasoning behind that question is that in theory rich people would have more access to creating designer babies and therefore be able to create better offspring increasing the gap between the rich and poor. One article says the
Designer babies used to be something that was only in science fiction books, but now, scientists are very close to being able to create them. There are many unknowns with designer babies such as will they be used to create healthier babies only, or will everything be about making the “perfect” looking baby. That is just one example of many. However, what could possibly be one of the most harmful consequences of designer babies is a reduced gene pool that could be caused by the elimination of certain genes, and that is unethical because it could have huge negative impacts on future generations.
Background
Before a person can understand all of the potential consequences of creating a designer baby, he or she must first understand …show more content…
A woman was able to know that the gene she had that caused a specific disease would not be passed on to her kids even though under normal circumstances there would be a 50 percent chance of the gene being passed on (Moyer). However, this is the basis of what is so scary about designer babies. If people figure out what genes tend to cause problems and check embryos for them, they will get rid of certain genes. That might not be a bad thing; however, those genes could have a benefit or function that people are unaware of. That is why it is so risky to get rid of or mess with specific …show more content…
The reason for that is that even if people can somehow prove that there will be no negative side effect of creating designer babies, this will most likely never happen, people will still have to decide if they are ethical. There are tons of ethical questions related to designer babies, including the deletions of genes that by its self makes designer babies unethical. Another important question that comes up a lot is “would designer babies increase the gap between the rich and poor?” The reasoning behind that question is that in theory rich people would have more access to creating designer babies and therefore be able to create better offspring increasing the gap between the rich and poor. One article says the