Argumentative Essay On Designer Babies
Felicia Houston
28 Apr. 2012
ENG 121/ G81 Argumentation Essay Final Draft
If prospective parents could give their unborn child the possibility of possessing the “perfect genetic package,” should they do it? What would be the repercussions? The term “designer baby” is defined as a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected and controlled by genetic engineering, combined with in vitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics in order to satisfy his or her parents’ expectations (Johnson). Where should the line be drawn? Should it be allowed to genetically modify, design or alter children solely at their parents’ discretion? With major progression through research, genetic …show more content…
engineering has become a reality, but does that make it safe or justifiable? In my opinion, parental engineering of an unborn child’s genetic characteristics is a bad idea. Before parents decide if genetic engineering is a good or bad idea, they should further educate themselves on its pros and cons. Imagine a world in which parents choose their unborn child’s traits directly out of a catalogue: boy or girl, brown eyes or green eyes, five feet or six feet tall, brown hair or blonde hair. To the writer, this process just screams “commodity,” eventually resulting in little or no genetic variation among humans. “Advances in genetics have given birth to the concept of 'designer baby ', wherein, parents and doctors are able to genetically screen embryos for any genetic disorders.” (Johnson) “Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD or PIGD) (also known as embryo screening) refers to procedures that are performed on embryos prior to implantation. Pre-implantation is considered another way to prenatal diagnosis. When used to screen for a specific genetic disease, its main advantage is that it avoids selective pregnancy, as the method makes it highly likely that the baby will be free of the disease under consideration.” (Wikipedia) Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is unregulated in our country, allowing physicians and parents to decide what practices are morally and ethically appropriate. When using PGD solely to cure diseases before birth, it is controversial; but when using PGD in order to give your child a competitive edge, it is unethical. Image is everything in our society; with the rising number of people chasing that perfect appearance, it is only inevitable that some parents would do the same thing for their children, resulting in only the selection of what are deemed the most desirable features.
As a species, we have always been determined to find ways to be more appealing, smarter, stronger, and live longer; designer babies will produce these long awaited results.
There are potential positive benefits that could come from genetic screening. Couples could profit from genetic manipulation, as it is said to reduce the risks of, or completely eliminate, hereditary life threatening diseases (Cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, Spina bifida, etc.) from being inherited by their unborn child. Advocates of genetic engineering argue that couples who are carriers of hereditary conditions could avoid emotional hardships by knowing that their children would not inherit a life-threatening disease. Designer babies would also give infertile couples the option of having children. Designing a child would give prospective parents the luxury of choosing desirable traits for their offspring, such as sex, hair color, height, personality, intelligence, and …show more content…
athleticism.
On the other hand, there are many negative repercussions of genetic engineering.
Since genetic engineering is a relatively new process, designer babies cannot be a guaranteed success; and the long term result is unknown. There are so many contributing factors that make a person a person; we cannot presume that science is fully reliable in improving the human condition. Science may have good intentions when seeking to improve life but fails to accept that it does not and cannot know what life is. After all, we are talking about an innocent being that has no say about the outcome of his or her life. Genetically engineering a baby is not natural; altering the natural process is preventing the child from becoming who he or she was intended to be. Being distinctive is a beautiful thing; designer babies will only promote unity and reduce diversity within our society. The results could be an indirect reproduction of the Holocaust, creating the “perfect race” by choosing traits that are superior and eliminating the undesirables. Widespread use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis will cause even greater divisions between social classes. As designer babies range from $15,000 to $20,000, only the affluent portion of the population is able to utilize these procedures. Denying low income families the privileges of designing a child with these superior traits will result in those families being discriminated
against.
In addition to choosing one’s offspring for purely personal reasons, there is also the very controversial debate on savior siblings. A savior sibling is a child selected through tissue typing and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis who is capable of saving/donating life to a sibling affected with a fatal disease. There are many ethical arguments against designing a child purely for utilitarian purposes. The main argument is that this process causes psychological effects on the savior child; “leaving the child feeling as if they were a means to someone else’s end, because they are in fact, a means to an end.” (Ertelt) Morally speaking, it is difficult to understand how a parent could design a child and force them to donate organs, bone marrow, and undergo unnecessary surgeries solely for the benefit of someone else.
On the other hand, the act of creating a savior sibling is undeniably beneficial to both the parents and suffering child; the most obvious benefit is saving the life of a child. Imagine if your child had developed some sort of terminal cancer. What would you do? Would you wait around for a miracle to happen? Or would you design a savior sibling to cure his or her illness? Knowing it is unlikely that a couple could conceive a perfect match naturally; would you opt for in vitro fertilization, which would increase these odds greatly? It is worth mentioning that savior siblings have the same opportunities in life that are available to any of us, and can be expected to lead useful and fulfilled life. The issue of savior siblings is a very complex one in today’s society. Whether it is ethically and morally correct to some, only the parents in this situation can decide if saving one child at the other’s expense is something they can live with.
The advancements in genetic engineering are inevitable; they have already opened numerous doors within the medical, agricultural, and technological world. The same; however, cannot be said for designer babies. In my opinion, there is no justifiable reason to genetically engineer a child for personal satisfaction. It is my belief that the countless negative repercussions of parents creating designer babies through the use of genetic engineering far outweigh the benefits and that these procedures should remain strictly medical in order to diagnose, treat, and cure diseases.
Works Cited
“Pros and Cons of Designer Babies” Johnson, Priya. 20 Jan. 2012. Web 12 Apr. 2012.
“Preimplanation genetic diagnosis.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2012< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preimplantation_genetic_diagnosis>
“Rescue me: the moral and ethical problems of creating savior siblings.” Ertelt, Steven. 8 Aug. 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.
28 Apr. 2012
ENG 121/ G81 Argumentation Essay Final Draft
If prospective parents could give their unborn child the possibility of possessing the “perfect genetic package,” should they do it? What would be the repercussions? The term “designer baby” is defined as a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected and controlled by genetic engineering, combined with in vitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics in order to satisfy his or her parents’ expectations (Johnson). Where should the line be drawn? Should it be allowed to genetically modify, design or alter children solely at their parents’ discretion? With major progression through research, genetic …show more content…
engineering has become a reality, but does that make it safe or justifiable? In my opinion, parental engineering of an unborn child’s genetic characteristics is a bad idea. Before parents decide if genetic engineering is a good or bad idea, they should further educate themselves on its pros and cons. Imagine a world in which parents choose their unborn child’s traits directly out of a catalogue: boy or girl, brown eyes or green eyes, five feet or six feet tall, brown hair or blonde hair. To the writer, this process just screams “commodity,” eventually resulting in little or no genetic variation among humans. “Advances in genetics have given birth to the concept of 'designer baby ', wherein, parents and doctors are able to genetically screen embryos for any genetic disorders.” (Johnson) “Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD or PIGD) (also known as embryo screening) refers to procedures that are performed on embryos prior to implantation. Pre-implantation is considered another way to prenatal diagnosis. When used to screen for a specific genetic disease, its main advantage is that it avoids selective pregnancy, as the method makes it highly likely that the baby will be free of the disease under consideration.” (Wikipedia) Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is unregulated in our country, allowing physicians and parents to decide what practices are morally and ethically appropriate. When using PGD solely to cure diseases before birth, it is controversial; but when using PGD in order to give your child a competitive edge, it is unethical. Image is everything in our society; with the rising number of people chasing that perfect appearance, it is only inevitable that some parents would do the same thing for their children, resulting in only the selection of what are deemed the most desirable features.
As a species, we have always been determined to find ways to be more appealing, smarter, stronger, and live longer; designer babies will produce these long awaited results.
There are potential positive benefits that could come from genetic screening. Couples could profit from genetic manipulation, as it is said to reduce the risks of, or completely eliminate, hereditary life threatening diseases (Cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, Spina bifida, etc.) from being inherited by their unborn child. Advocates of genetic engineering argue that couples who are carriers of hereditary conditions could avoid emotional hardships by knowing that their children would not inherit a life-threatening disease. Designer babies would also give infertile couples the option of having children. Designing a child would give prospective parents the luxury of choosing desirable traits for their offspring, such as sex, hair color, height, personality, intelligence, and …show more content…
athleticism.
On the other hand, there are many negative repercussions of genetic engineering.
Since genetic engineering is a relatively new process, designer babies cannot be a guaranteed success; and the long term result is unknown. There are so many contributing factors that make a person a person; we cannot presume that science is fully reliable in improving the human condition. Science may have good intentions when seeking to improve life but fails to accept that it does not and cannot know what life is. After all, we are talking about an innocent being that has no say about the outcome of his or her life. Genetically engineering a baby is not natural; altering the natural process is preventing the child from becoming who he or she was intended to be. Being distinctive is a beautiful thing; designer babies will only promote unity and reduce diversity within our society. The results could be an indirect reproduction of the Holocaust, creating the “perfect race” by choosing traits that are superior and eliminating the undesirables. Widespread use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis will cause even greater divisions between social classes. As designer babies range from $15,000 to $20,000, only the affluent portion of the population is able to utilize these procedures. Denying low income families the privileges of designing a child with these superior traits will result in those families being discriminated
against.
In addition to choosing one’s offspring for purely personal reasons, there is also the very controversial debate on savior siblings. A savior sibling is a child selected through tissue typing and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis who is capable of saving/donating life to a sibling affected with a fatal disease. There are many ethical arguments against designing a child purely for utilitarian purposes. The main argument is that this process causes psychological effects on the savior child; “leaving the child feeling as if they were a means to someone else’s end, because they are in fact, a means to an end.” (Ertelt) Morally speaking, it is difficult to understand how a parent could design a child and force them to donate organs, bone marrow, and undergo unnecessary surgeries solely for the benefit of someone else.
On the other hand, the act of creating a savior sibling is undeniably beneficial to both the parents and suffering child; the most obvious benefit is saving the life of a child. Imagine if your child had developed some sort of terminal cancer. What would you do? Would you wait around for a miracle to happen? Or would you design a savior sibling to cure his or her illness? Knowing it is unlikely that a couple could conceive a perfect match naturally; would you opt for in vitro fertilization, which would increase these odds greatly? It is worth mentioning that savior siblings have the same opportunities in life that are available to any of us, and can be expected to lead useful and fulfilled life. The issue of savior siblings is a very complex one in today’s society. Whether it is ethically and morally correct to some, only the parents in this situation can decide if saving one child at the other’s expense is something they can live with.
The advancements in genetic engineering are inevitable; they have already opened numerous doors within the medical, agricultural, and technological world. The same; however, cannot be said for designer babies. In my opinion, there is no justifiable reason to genetically engineer a child for personal satisfaction. It is my belief that the countless negative repercussions of parents creating designer babies through the use of genetic engineering far outweigh the benefits and that these procedures should remain strictly medical in order to diagnose, treat, and cure diseases.
Works Cited
“Pros and Cons of Designer Babies” Johnson, Priya. 20 Jan. 2012. Web 12 Apr. 2012.
“Preimplanation genetic diagnosis.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2012< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preimplantation_genetic_diagnosis>
“Rescue me: the moral and ethical problems of creating savior siblings.” Ertelt, Steven. 8 Aug. 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.