Designer Babies

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is defined as a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with in vitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics. Remember the movie/novel My Sister’s Keeper? One character was conceived through in vitro fertilisation, modified to be a genetic match for her sister in order to save her. And for you anime lovers, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, set in a universe where ‘naturals’ (normal human beings) rage war against ‘coordinators’ (genetically modified human beings) because of their genetic differences. Remember that? I bet you thought it was fiction too, well it isn’t. The reality is we live in an age where we discover new technoligies to do such things.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic or fiction.” -Arthur C. Clarke

Comments on designer babies

Advanced reproductive techniques involve using in vitro fertilization to fertilize eggs with sperm in 'test-tubes' outside the mother's body in a laboratory. These techniques allow doctors and parents to reduce the chance that a child will be born with a genetic disorder. The first involves choosing the type of sperm that will fertilize an egg: this is used to determine the sex and the genes of the baby. The second technique screens embryos for a genetic disease: only selected embryos are implanted back into the mother's womb.

In vitro fertilization

The process of making designer babies can reduce the baby's chances of being born with several serious diseases like Down Syndrome, rare blood disorders, etc. This ensures the continuity of our species and a healthy community. We wouldn’t have to spend so much on medicines and treatments. Taxpayer’s money would be better spent to another area of need rather than free healthcare/healthcare field. Lives can also be saved through cloning, i.e. My Sister’s Keeper.

Process of saving lives through designer babies

Conception of designer babies is a very controversial topic. Therapy is justifiable but enhancement is not. Just like in the show Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, the genetically enhanced will look down on those who were not and God forbid an all out war will break out. In reality, these processes are very expensive, meaning only the wealthy would be protected from inherited diseases and disabilities, and the discrimination against those with disabilities and the non-disabled, the poor and the rich would greatly rise, as if there wasn’t already a big gap in society. Human DNA has never experienced any type of re-structuring, the possibilities of problems would greatly rise. Genetically engineering designer babies would compel us to think of each other as products or devices rather than people. What's the point of living if we're already genetically 'perfect'? Our lives would be dull. There won't be any challenges, no more triumphs, no more struggles, no more high's or low's. Our lives would be like a roller coaster without loops and drops. Just imagine how boring that would be. Life as we know would be challengeless and victory will be tasteless.

Juss imagine if everybody in the world looked the same.

Abortion and conception of designer babies are similar in a way that there is a debate about the rights of the baby. Pro-lifers believe that the fetus should be free to not be genetically modified. Some tests have been proven to be successful but many have also failed. When the test fails the subject is discarded, which essentially is a human being because it was already concevied. Therefore it is depicting the act of murder or abortion.

As of now, some methods of creating designer babies are considered illegal and condemned. The Declaration of Helsinki states:

It is recognised that when the research participant is incompetent, physically or mentally incapable of giving consent, or is a minor (Articles 23, 24), then allowance should be considered for surrogate consent by an individual acting in the subject's best interest.

The subject, arguablly being a human and fits into the category of being uninformed of the medical procedures and incapable of making his/her own decisions. The American Association for the Advancement of Science concludes that this biotechnology "cannot presently be carried out safely and responsibly on human beings" and that "pressing moral concerns" have been addressed.

Technologies that are developed from genetical engineering include: in vitro fertilization, cures for diseases and cloning of extinct species etc.

Genetic engineering can be seen as an act of playing God. We are taking His role for our own purposes. In a way we are deciding who is more worthy to live and die. Genetic engineering is a very controversial act. It is true when it is said that...

“Humanity is acquiring the right technology for the wrong reasons.” – R. Buckminster Fuller

Do these look like they need altering? 'If it ain't broken don’t fix it.'

Work Cited

Joanne Lynch. "How safe is in vitro fertilization (IVF)? - by Joanne Lynch - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. http://www.helium.com/items/1360972-ivf-icsi-embryos-in-vitro-fertilization.

Mark S. Frankel & Audrey R. Chapman. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Web. http://www.aaas.org/spp/sfrl/projects/germline/report.pdf.

Nicholas Agar. "Designer Babies: Ethical Considerations (ActionBioscience)." ActionBioscience - promoting bioscience literacy. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/agar.html.

"Office of Human Subjects Research." OHSR. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/Helsinki.html.

Priya Johnson. "Pros and Cons of Designer Babies." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-designer-babies.html.

Blogs commented on:

http://bee-eye-oh.blogspot.com/2009/10/no-one-can-be-perfect-think-again.html#comments

http://bio4phen.blogspot.com/2009/10/designer-babies.html#comments

Humans, Invasive or Stewards?

In my own personal opinion, humans are both invasive and stewards of this Earth. Political and public reforms have often led change to the way we consume energy and raw materials and how we go about obtaining it, meaning that we are, to an extent, fulfilling our duty as stewards. Though nothing is perfect, we still create much pollution and have driven certain species into the endangerment of extinction. There is much work to do until we can truly call ourselves stewards of the Earth.

A good example of an invasive and a stewardship action are the construction and usage of hydro dams. The ironic thing about creating a dam is that, yes we are creating clean energy neither harmful fumes nor toxic wastes but we are invading habitats of fish and other aquatic species. Dams slow river currents and may cause damage. Rivers tend to have a constant temperature and dam reservoirs have a type of layered temperature meaning that it does not have a constant temperature, which can cause harm to certain species. Loss riverbanks and river beds are often due to water exiting a dam tube. A large dam can lead to the loss of entire ecosystems.

Though dams have negatives effects it does however possess good qualities. For example, hydroelectricity is a major source of power, the power that is generated by a dam is clean and environmentally friendly. The energy that is being produced by hydro dams is clearly reducing our reliance on fossil fuel as the primary source of energy.

It will require huge amounts of money, effort, and time to return our planet to its once clean and pollution free self. But with technological innovation and production of clean energy I believe that we can fulfill our duties as stewards of this planet, as God commanded.

References:

http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/59.html

http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/1636

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046