By genetically modified, I mean babies which had their genetic make up changed prior to birth. This means a family can pick and choose how certain characteristics of their baby will turn out, such as hair colour, eye colour and gender. Now this is achieved through a process of PGD and IVF. PGD refers to Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, which are procedures performed on embryos prior to implantation and IVF refers to In Vitro Fertilisation which is the process of fertilizing egg cells by sperm outside of the body. Not only appearance can be changed through this process, but also the health of the baby can be modified. Faulty embryos containing disorders such as Huntington's Chorea and Cystic Fibrosis can be screened out, and only those not containing to faulty gene will be placed in the mothers' womb through the process of PGD.
Now some of you may be thinking that such a procedure is morally wrong. However if you look at it as a family wanting to have a healthy baby, wouldn't you want to avoid disorders which could affect yourself and everyone around you? I am sure that deep down inside, people of the present with disorders since birth, would rather be "normal" than not. Nevertheless, if such a technology was used for cosmetic purposes, then my thoughts would be reversed, otherwise society would all look like the media's portrayal of the "perfect" appearance.
All in all, research and technology has made huge advances in the past years, at an unimaginable rate that makes us wonder "is there a limit?" It may not seem significant now but in areas such as genetics, it is only a matter of time before we can do more than just change hair colour or eye colour. It is almost certain that individuals will abuse this technology and use it for inhumane uses, such as war.
At the end of the day, I think that despite the pros of modifying ones genes, that human genetics should never be tampered with.
Sources
- http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_intro.htm
- http://www.impactlab.net/2008/05/14/on-the-path-to-creating-designer-babies/
- http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/agar.html
- http://nwso.net/2009/03/10/doctor-makes-designer-babies-would-god-be-happy/
- http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2009/02/17/fertility-clinic-offers-designer-babies.aspx
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