As we continue to grow more intelligent within our society, science has broken barriers when it comes to DNA, genetics and what are called “designer babies.” Stated in the Oxford dictionary, designer baby, by definition is: a baby whose genetic make-up has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present (Oxford Dictionary, 2017). This allows to pre-select embryos before implantation. While that sounds phenomenal, no disease has actually been cured necessarily, but through genetic engineering, scientist have been able to eliminate disease-carrying traits in the DNA code of a human embryo. This prevents the child from having that genetic disease from being passed down from parent to child.
…show more content…
Murray, a bioethicist at the Hastings Center, a nonprofit research center in Garrison, N.Y. (Ghose, 2014).
As research into this controversial subject continues, many questions arise. What could be possible in the near future and would it permanently alter the gene pool that is our origin on Earth? A debatable issues to address is the ethical stand point on designer babies. Is genetic research ethical based on its intended outcome? The main reason for the extensive research on modifying genetics is to eliminate disease carrying traits, not necessarily just because you want your daughter to have the same red hair your great aunt Bertha had.
If research in those terms continues to progress, the possibility of permanently altering the gene pool and germline is could be a reality, creating a future of “Super Babies” or possibly the ultimate army of genetically modified humans, leading us into a new era of mankind. An argument is that genetic testing would lead to legitimizing a new form of individual, consumer eugenics (Stankovic, 2005). Deciding the sex of your child today could lead to different personality traits tomorrow. Along with phenotype, sexual appeal and the list goes on. Genetically modifying babies would lead to genetic research with possible outcomes of changing the appearance, intelligence, …show more content…
Not necessarily. As of now PGD is used for medical reasoning, not to abolish parents. Although three-parent babies have been successfully born, only few have been born. Three-parent babies are a majority of DNA from the mother and father added with a small amount from a donor. That small amount of DNA is used to replace the disease carrying DNA, therefore, the child is born without that mutation/disease (Saey, 2016). As we continue with the “parent” topic the potential for “test-tube” babies or babies born outside of the mother rises. But is this cloning? No. Cloning is putting the same DNA in an embryo while a test-tub baby has both the mother and fathers DNA, making that baby different than both their mother and father. Clones have a 90% fail rate among animals and those who are born have serious medical issues (Arthur Caplan,
Murray, a bioethicist at the Hastings Center, a nonprofit research center in Garrison, N.Y. (Ghose, 2014).
As research into this controversial subject continues, many questions arise. What could be possible in the near future and would it permanently alter the gene pool that is our origin on Earth? A debatable issues to address is the ethical stand point on designer babies. Is genetic research ethical based on its intended outcome? The main reason for the extensive research on modifying genetics is to eliminate disease carrying traits, not necessarily just because you want your daughter to have the same red hair your great aunt Bertha had.
If research in those terms continues to progress, the possibility of permanently altering the gene pool and germline is could be a reality, creating a future of “Super Babies” or possibly the ultimate army of genetically modified humans, leading us into a new era of mankind. An argument is that genetic testing would lead to legitimizing a new form of individual, consumer eugenics (Stankovic, 2005). Deciding the sex of your child today could lead to different personality traits tomorrow. Along with phenotype, sexual appeal and the list goes on. Genetically modifying babies would lead to genetic research with possible outcomes of changing the appearance, intelligence, …show more content…
Not necessarily. As of now PGD is used for medical reasoning, not to abolish parents. Although three-parent babies have been successfully born, only few have been born. Three-parent babies are a majority of DNA from the mother and father added with a small amount from a donor. That small amount of DNA is used to replace the disease carrying DNA, therefore, the child is born without that mutation/disease (Saey, 2016). As we continue with the “parent” topic the potential for “test-tube” babies or babies born outside of the mother rises. But is this cloning? No. Cloning is putting the same DNA in an embryo while a test-tub baby has both the mother and fathers DNA, making that baby different than both their mother and father. Clones have a 90% fail rate among animals and those who are born have serious medical issues (Arthur Caplan,