“IT’S ALIVE!” exclaimed mad scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who succeeds in creating a 'human ' life form. In Mary Shelley’s science fiction novel, Frankenstein, themes such as the concept of playing God, artificial birth and creation are not science fiction anymore. Thanks to the growing power and convenience of genetic engineering i.e. ‘designer babies’, creating the perfect human is right around the corner. For the longest time, humans have reproduce and left matters into the hands of Mother Nature. With barely any control of the outcome, every expectant parent has told their doctor that they don’t care what the baby looks like, just as long as the baby is healthy. Still, they secretly fantasize about what physical traits and personality
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According to the article “How a Designer Baby Will Spare Us from Breast Cancer”, Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority were able to screen the embryos of two couples, both able to have children, in search of the inherited breast cancer gene (Martin and Hull, para. 2). One of the couples who lost most of the women in her family to cancer claimed “much of [her] life with cancer and death, and the fear that [she] might have to face it and might pass on the risk to my children…” it gave them “the chance to make sure [their] daughters won 't have the same experience. '” ( Martin and Hull, para.7). With certain genetic technologies only available to couples who are infertile, it gives everyone a chance to have a healthy baby, which can potentially erase life threatening diseases forever. Some see this as a chance of advancing humanity, of discovering new potentials and greatness. This could lead to cultural trends leading to humanity looking altogether different from now, having traits that are even impossible without the help of engineering. Some see it as a huge benefit if they were given the chance to make their child intelligent. In Paul Waldman’s article “In Praise of Designer Babies”, he explains why there’s nothing wrong with modifying genes to make a child smarter (para.). So since “parents already do a million things …show more content…
Skeptical Josephine Quintavalle, director of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, says “‘this is not an acceptable way forward. It 's already leading in the direction of a quest for perfection. There is no such thing as an absolutely perfect human being '” (para.5). If genetic screening goes beyond checking for diseased genes, which is more favorable, it is believed that soon we will want to create the "perfect" baby for the sake of it being the smartest, most athletic or prettiest, which is superficial and selfish. For those who can afford it, we would most likely all choose the most appealing looks. If we decide we want to have a female as opposed to a male child, or blonde hair over brunette, or green eyes as opposed to brown, there will be genetic discrimination. In doing so we are saying that men, blonde hair, blue eyed humans or whatever desired “perfect” trait are superior to undesired traits. We will see a repeat in history, for example the Holocaust. Our diversity as a race would slowly diminish until we all looked like Barbie and Ken. Moreover, the cost of creating the baby you want is not going to be cheap. Brownlee states that “fees for IVF, vary between $5,000 and $15,000, with another $2,000 to $3,000 for fertility drugs… PGD can add several thousand dollars to the bill” (27). The cost of designing the baby you want can go as high as $20,000 or
According to the article “How a Designer Baby Will Spare Us from Breast Cancer”, Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority were able to screen the embryos of two couples, both able to have children, in search of the inherited breast cancer gene (Martin and Hull, para. 2). One of the couples who lost most of the women in her family to cancer claimed “much of [her] life with cancer and death, and the fear that [she] might have to face it and might pass on the risk to my children…” it gave them “the chance to make sure [their] daughters won 't have the same experience. '” ( Martin and Hull, para.7). With certain genetic technologies only available to couples who are infertile, it gives everyone a chance to have a healthy baby, which can potentially erase life threatening diseases forever. Some see this as a chance of advancing humanity, of discovering new potentials and greatness. This could lead to cultural trends leading to humanity looking altogether different from now, having traits that are even impossible without the help of engineering. Some see it as a huge benefit if they were given the chance to make their child intelligent. In Paul Waldman’s article “In Praise of Designer Babies”, he explains why there’s nothing wrong with modifying genes to make a child smarter (para.). So since “parents already do a million things …show more content…
Skeptical Josephine Quintavalle, director of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, says “‘this is not an acceptable way forward. It 's already leading in the direction of a quest for perfection. There is no such thing as an absolutely perfect human being '” (para.5). If genetic screening goes beyond checking for diseased genes, which is more favorable, it is believed that soon we will want to create the "perfect" baby for the sake of it being the smartest, most athletic or prettiest, which is superficial and selfish. For those who can afford it, we would most likely all choose the most appealing looks. If we decide we want to have a female as opposed to a male child, or blonde hair over brunette, or green eyes as opposed to brown, there will be genetic discrimination. In doing so we are saying that men, blonde hair, blue eyed humans or whatever desired “perfect” trait are superior to undesired traits. We will see a repeat in history, for example the Holocaust. Our diversity as a race would slowly diminish until we all looked like Barbie and Ken. Moreover, the cost of creating the baby you want is not going to be cheap. Brownlee states that “fees for IVF, vary between $5,000 and $15,000, with another $2,000 to $3,000 for fertility drugs… PGD can add several thousand dollars to the bill” (27). The cost of designing the baby you want can go as high as $20,000 or