Future Designer Babies

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The Future of Designer Babies There are always new medical and technological advances happening in the world. Sometimes, the two overlap. Doctors across the world are pushing towards a new breakthrough: designer babies. The name is not a scientific term, of course, but it generalizes what these doctors are trying to accomplish. The good intentions of these doctors range from curing medical diseases, to preventing genetic disorders. Unfortunately, there are too many concerns involved. The door to genetic manipulation is quickly opening. The future of designer babies could be dangerous. It has the potential to shake up society as humans know it. Life’s biggest controversy once again comes to a head: is the risk worth the reward in the long…show more content…
It brings danger to the entire society. As an article for MSNBC, “‘Designer’ babies with made-to-order defects?” reports, a new choice is making it possible for couples with disabilities to “design” a baby just like them, defects and all. They as the question, is a “perfect baby” a happy baby? Not necessarily. If this idea is put into effect, it will take “designer babies” to a whole new level. While some people believe that being deaf or being a dwarf is a disability, those who actually experience that life think of it as a good thing. They want their children to be exactly like them. They ask if it is wrong to let that occur (2). That is one of the main questions that many debate. There are two completely different beliefs. On one side, the criticism is too much. Regular people, like Cara Reynolds, say that it is not fair for doctors to tell her that she “cannot have a child who’s going to look like [her]” (“‘Designer’” 2). But others put it into a much more negative form, saying it is “the deliberate crippling of children” (“‘Designer’” 1). In the article “‘Designer’ babies with made-to-order defects,” only three percent of all clinics surveyed admit to these procedures. That amount is only an approximation, for these clinics are telling the truth, but how many are not? Even though there are tight regulations on clinical trials, there are loopholes. Some doctors have denounced the practice. How many would be willing to disable…show more content…
Andrew Pollack, of the New York Times wrote a descriptive article, “Engineering by Scientists on Embryo Stirs Criticism.” He provides an example of this altering. At Cornell University, they took an embryo that did not have the ability to become a child, and inserted a fluorescent protein. This gave it one extra chromosome. The fluorescent protein survived, causing the cells in the embryo to glow, and carried the protein into the daughter cell (1). While this was important research, “A spokesman for the National Institutes of Health said the Cornell work would not be classified as gene therapy,” only because “a test-tube embryo is not considered a person under the regulations” (Pollack 1) Right now, that leaves this research as something to be studied, not acted upon
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