Designer Babies Research Paper
Designer Babies Bring your partner, grab a seat, pick up your baby catalog and start picking. Will you go for the black hair or brown? Would you prefer tall or short? Comical or intelligent? Boy or Girl? And do you want them to be a muscle-yielding sports aficionado? Or a slender and intelligent book worm? When you 're done selecting, head to the counter and it 's time to start creating your new child. Does this sound like a scary thought? With rapid advances in scientific knowledge of the human genome and our increasing ability to modify and change genes, this scenario of "designing" your baby could well be possible in the near future (Steere, Mike). Parents who have access to the latest genetic testing techniques can now predetermine
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their baby 's sex with great accuracy (Lemonick, Michael D). The technique might increase the number of successful pregnancies from In Vitro Fertilization (Lemonick, Michael D). Within a decade or two, it may be possible to screen kids almost before conception for an enormous range of attributes, such as how tall they 're likely to be, what body type they will have, their hair and eye color, what sorts of illnesses they will be naturally resistant to, and even, conceivably, their IQ and personality type (Lemonick, Michael D). In fact, if gene therapy lives up to its promise, parents may someday be able to go beyond weeding out undesirable traits and start actually inserting the genes they want--perhaps even genes that have been crafted in a lab (Geddes, Linda). The drive for passing genes to a healthy baby will soon lead to scanning embryos in labs for genetic defects and characteristics before being implanted into hopeful moms. Connor Levy made history when he was born in Philadelphia because he was the first child to be born after his parents screened the genomes of a batch of their embryos for abnormalities, in an effort to pick the healthiest for implantation (Geddes, Linda). Although the researchers involved in Connor’s case stopped short of actually sequencing the boy’s genome, his example is proof that it can be done, potentially introducing and era of designer babies (Lemonick, Michael D). The parents of Connor, Marybeth Scheidts and David Levy, turned to the technique after three attempts at intrauterine insemination. The couple finally opted for IVF, which produced 13 embryos, seven of which looked normal. Usually, one in seven of the embryos would be randomly selected for implantation (Lemonick, Michael D). However, the couple had enrolled in a clinical trial of an embryo screening technique, which revealed that just three of the embryos carried the correct number of chromosomes. Two of those were frozen, the other was implanted. In the Scheidts-Levy case, cells were taken from the embryos, and their DNA was extracted. Then, next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to count the chromosomes in each cell (Leminick, Michael D). The technique can be tweaked to allow examination of any gene mutations, such as those that cause cystic fibrosis. "At some point in the not-too-distant future, prospective parents will have the technical ability to look at the genome of their embryos and select embryos based on the traits they see, whether those are disease traits, cosmetic traits, behavioral traits, or boy or a girl," said Hank Greely of Stanford University 's Center for Law and the Biosciences. “We need to be very careful that this isn’t used for trivial, nonmedical reasons”. A worldwide ban on such selection might be unworkable (Leminick, Michael D). "There are roughly 200 countries in the world," he said. "If 199 ban it, that 's a great commercial opportunity for the 200th” (Leminick, Michael D).
Scientists insist the development could protect future generations from the pain and indignity of serious and incurable diseases (Foster, Kate). Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: 'This proposal, which is akin to eugenics, is ethically repugnant. Such processes are less about medical progress, with the aim of helping people with a disability, and are more about a policy of hunt and destroy any person who is not considered perfect “ (Foster, Kate). Medical director Dr Marco Gaudoin said Ageing is linked to having abnormal embryos, for example those at risk of miscarriage (Foster, Kate). For some women who have suffered repeated miscarriages, the new service would more than double the chances of carrying a baby to term. There are a number of known chromosome abnormalities linked with miscarriage, two examples are Down’s syndrome and Edward’s syndrome- a defect which causes heart problems and is usually fatal. Embryos carrying genetic deficiencies will be rejected and only genetically “perfect” embryos will be placed in the womb with a chance of life. The process is legal as Down 's syndrome, which causes physical and intellectual impairment, is one of a number of conditions for which embryo screening is approved by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, the body which regulates fertility clinics. Screening embryos and replacing only those which are likely to have a good outcome means that some patients may be spared the heartbreak of failed cycles and achieve a successful pregnancy (Foster, Kate).
A patent granted to 23AndMe Inc., a company that provides DNA analysis, lets prospective parents choose whether they want their baby to be a “likely sprinter” or a “likely endurance athlete” or even to see if your baby will have the “least expected life cost of health care”.
The patent was issued Sept. 24th and covers a technology that would help a prospective parent choose traits in a baby by identifying those traits in the DNA of sperm and egg donors. Then, the prospective parent could build a designer baby through artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization or by hiring a surrogate mother. If you are like me and think that this build-a-baby idea sounds like something out of “Brave New World”, you are not alone. Since the patenting of the issue, a wide range of people have been sounding the ethics alarm over the idea of trying to “order up” a baby according to certain specifications. The Center for Genetics and Society issued a press conference on Oct. 2 calling for 23AndMe to abstain from offering the service and to use its patents to discourage others from doing so. “It amounts to shopping for designer donors in an effort to produce designer babies”, Marcy Darnovsky, the center’s executive director, said in the center’s press release. The 23AndMe company retreated a week after the patent was issued, and posted on its blog saying that the company’s strategic focus has changed since they applied for the patent 5 years ago, and that it does not plan to offer gamete donor selection (Carey, Ann). Pia de Solenni, an ethicist and cultural analyst, said that this build-a-baby mentality is part of what pope francis called a “disposable culture.” When parents do this, they miss the experience of encountering another person as a gift, and they set themselves up for “a world of heartache and disappointment”, for no person lives up to all the expectations of others (Carey,
Ann).
Couples may soon be able to create disease-free babies by buying a genetic test on the internet. Inventors of the £700 saliva testing kit claim that it can 'end preventable diseases ' such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia (McRae, Fiona). But critics have warned that this has sinister undertones of selective breeding or 'eugenics '. They say that many of the 100-plus conditions the test can detect are so rare that they are of little concern to average parents. It could also lead to a 'dangerous ' situation where test results would determine whether a couple decides to marry and have children. In cases where future parents were found to have flawed genes, they could ask for embryos to be 'screened out ' through IVF treatment - or even terminated by abortion. The test will be available online in Britain within months and a Californian company Counsyl has also produced it. The firm says the development could protect future generations from the pain and indignity of serious and incurable diseases (McRae, Fiona). Counsyl 's tests work by screening samples of saliva for genetic mutations that could cause life-threatening illnesses to offspring. Those with a family history of conditions such as cystic fibrosis are already entitled to screening on the NHS. But the new test would inform couples about the risks of scores of other diseases, including some that affect fewer than ten babies born in the UK each year. Dr David King of Human Genetics Alert added: 'What worries me is that we 'll get to a point where people are afraid to marry somebody and have children with them if they don 't know that person has the best genes. That 's very dangerous’ (McRae, Fiona).
Works Cited
Carey, Ann. " 'Designer babies ' move closer to reality with patent. (cover story)." Our Sunday Visitor 17 Nov. 2013: 5. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Fiona, MacRae. "DESIGNER BABIES ON THE INTERNET FOR £700." Daily Mail 09 Feb. 2010: 1. Regional Business News. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Geddes, Linda. "Are designer babies coming in the future?." Washington Post, The 8: Regional Business News. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Kate, Foster. "A GIANT STEP TO DESIGNER BABIES." Daily Mail 26 July 2010: 1. Regional Business News. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Lemonick, Michael D.Bjerklie, DavidPark, AliceThompson, Dick. "Designer Babies. (Cover Story)." Time 153.1 (1999): 64. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Steere, Mike. "Designer Babies: Creating the Perfect Child." CNN. Cable News Network, 30 Oct. 2008. Web. 05 Jan. 2014.
their baby 's sex with great accuracy (Lemonick, Michael D). The technique might increase the number of successful pregnancies from In Vitro Fertilization (Lemonick, Michael D). Within a decade or two, it may be possible to screen kids almost before conception for an enormous range of attributes, such as how tall they 're likely to be, what body type they will have, their hair and eye color, what sorts of illnesses they will be naturally resistant to, and even, conceivably, their IQ and personality type (Lemonick, Michael D). In fact, if gene therapy lives up to its promise, parents may someday be able to go beyond weeding out undesirable traits and start actually inserting the genes they want--perhaps even genes that have been crafted in a lab (Geddes, Linda). The drive for passing genes to a healthy baby will soon lead to scanning embryos in labs for genetic defects and characteristics before being implanted into hopeful moms. Connor Levy made history when he was born in Philadelphia because he was the first child to be born after his parents screened the genomes of a batch of their embryos for abnormalities, in an effort to pick the healthiest for implantation (Geddes, Linda). Although the researchers involved in Connor’s case stopped short of actually sequencing the boy’s genome, his example is proof that it can be done, potentially introducing and era of designer babies (Lemonick, Michael D). The parents of Connor, Marybeth Scheidts and David Levy, turned to the technique after three attempts at intrauterine insemination. The couple finally opted for IVF, which produced 13 embryos, seven of which looked normal. Usually, one in seven of the embryos would be randomly selected for implantation (Lemonick, Michael D). However, the couple had enrolled in a clinical trial of an embryo screening technique, which revealed that just three of the embryos carried the correct number of chromosomes. Two of those were frozen, the other was implanted. In the Scheidts-Levy case, cells were taken from the embryos, and their DNA was extracted. Then, next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to count the chromosomes in each cell (Leminick, Michael D). The technique can be tweaked to allow examination of any gene mutations, such as those that cause cystic fibrosis. "At some point in the not-too-distant future, prospective parents will have the technical ability to look at the genome of their embryos and select embryos based on the traits they see, whether those are disease traits, cosmetic traits, behavioral traits, or boy or a girl," said Hank Greely of Stanford University 's Center for Law and the Biosciences. “We need to be very careful that this isn’t used for trivial, nonmedical reasons”. A worldwide ban on such selection might be unworkable (Leminick, Michael D). "There are roughly 200 countries in the world," he said. "If 199 ban it, that 's a great commercial opportunity for the 200th” (Leminick, Michael D).
Scientists insist the development could protect future generations from the pain and indignity of serious and incurable diseases (Foster, Kate). Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: 'This proposal, which is akin to eugenics, is ethically repugnant. Such processes are less about medical progress, with the aim of helping people with a disability, and are more about a policy of hunt and destroy any person who is not considered perfect “ (Foster, Kate). Medical director Dr Marco Gaudoin said Ageing is linked to having abnormal embryos, for example those at risk of miscarriage (Foster, Kate). For some women who have suffered repeated miscarriages, the new service would more than double the chances of carrying a baby to term. There are a number of known chromosome abnormalities linked with miscarriage, two examples are Down’s syndrome and Edward’s syndrome- a defect which causes heart problems and is usually fatal. Embryos carrying genetic deficiencies will be rejected and only genetically “perfect” embryos will be placed in the womb with a chance of life. The process is legal as Down 's syndrome, which causes physical and intellectual impairment, is one of a number of conditions for which embryo screening is approved by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, the body which regulates fertility clinics. Screening embryos and replacing only those which are likely to have a good outcome means that some patients may be spared the heartbreak of failed cycles and achieve a successful pregnancy (Foster, Kate).
A patent granted to 23AndMe Inc., a company that provides DNA analysis, lets prospective parents choose whether they want their baby to be a “likely sprinter” or a “likely endurance athlete” or even to see if your baby will have the “least expected life cost of health care”.
The patent was issued Sept. 24th and covers a technology that would help a prospective parent choose traits in a baby by identifying those traits in the DNA of sperm and egg donors. Then, the prospective parent could build a designer baby through artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization or by hiring a surrogate mother. If you are like me and think that this build-a-baby idea sounds like something out of “Brave New World”, you are not alone. Since the patenting of the issue, a wide range of people have been sounding the ethics alarm over the idea of trying to “order up” a baby according to certain specifications. The Center for Genetics and Society issued a press conference on Oct. 2 calling for 23AndMe to abstain from offering the service and to use its patents to discourage others from doing so. “It amounts to shopping for designer donors in an effort to produce designer babies”, Marcy Darnovsky, the center’s executive director, said in the center’s press release. The 23AndMe company retreated a week after the patent was issued, and posted on its blog saying that the company’s strategic focus has changed since they applied for the patent 5 years ago, and that it does not plan to offer gamete donor selection (Carey, Ann). Pia de Solenni, an ethicist and cultural analyst, said that this build-a-baby mentality is part of what pope francis called a “disposable culture.” When parents do this, they miss the experience of encountering another person as a gift, and they set themselves up for “a world of heartache and disappointment”, for no person lives up to all the expectations of others (Carey,
Ann).
Couples may soon be able to create disease-free babies by buying a genetic test on the internet. Inventors of the £700 saliva testing kit claim that it can 'end preventable diseases ' such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia (McRae, Fiona). But critics have warned that this has sinister undertones of selective breeding or 'eugenics '. They say that many of the 100-plus conditions the test can detect are so rare that they are of little concern to average parents. It could also lead to a 'dangerous ' situation where test results would determine whether a couple decides to marry and have children. In cases where future parents were found to have flawed genes, they could ask for embryos to be 'screened out ' through IVF treatment - or even terminated by abortion. The test will be available online in Britain within months and a Californian company Counsyl has also produced it. The firm says the development could protect future generations from the pain and indignity of serious and incurable diseases (McRae, Fiona). Counsyl 's tests work by screening samples of saliva for genetic mutations that could cause life-threatening illnesses to offspring. Those with a family history of conditions such as cystic fibrosis are already entitled to screening on the NHS. But the new test would inform couples about the risks of scores of other diseases, including some that affect fewer than ten babies born in the UK each year. Dr David King of Human Genetics Alert added: 'What worries me is that we 'll get to a point where people are afraid to marry somebody and have children with them if they don 't know that person has the best genes. That 's very dangerous’ (McRae, Fiona).
Works Cited
Carey, Ann. " 'Designer babies ' move closer to reality with patent. (cover story)." Our Sunday Visitor 17 Nov. 2013: 5. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Fiona, MacRae. "DESIGNER BABIES ON THE INTERNET FOR £700." Daily Mail 09 Feb. 2010: 1. Regional Business News. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Geddes, Linda. "Are designer babies coming in the future?." Washington Post, The 8: Regional Business News. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Kate, Foster. "A GIANT STEP TO DESIGNER BABIES." Daily Mail 26 July 2010: 1. Regional Business News. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Lemonick, Michael D.Bjerklie, DavidPark, AliceThompson, Dick. "Designer Babies. (Cover Story)." Time 153.1 (1999): 64. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Steere, Mike. "Designer Babies: Creating the Perfect Child." CNN. Cable News Network, 30 Oct. 2008. Web. 05 Jan. 2014.