Pgd And Designer Babies

Designer Babies: A New Era Approaches

By Thomas Hall

Published on October 01, 2007

Picture this:

A massive, glittering catwalk in the middle of a big-city studio.

The top names in fashion, magazine publishing, and popular culture surrounding it as flashbulbs blaze.

The fall show is just minutes away from beginning. Soon, the latest trends will be set. The glitterati's mouths hang agape in breathless anticipation. The lights dim, a hush falls, and from behind the curtain emerge…

…babies.

Dozens of them, each one unique; each being held by an apprentice "fashion handler" and paraded in front of the gawkers like a pristine golden egg, doing the obligatory turn at the end of the catwalk, and making way for the next. Welcome to this season's Designer Baby Week right here in the Designer Baby District, where the latest in genetic manipulation can give you the child you want rather than one you have to settle for! The sex of your child… you decide! Eye color, hair color, height – you name it! Who says the scientific revolution doesn't extend to the world of fashion?

Thankfully, the above scenario is completely fictional. It has not happened, and many years will pass before it even becomes technologically possible. But that it's not impossible is becoming clearer every day.

What is now called Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, or PGD, may ultimately pave the way for parents being able to pick and choose significant traits of their offspring. PGD is currently used to identify embryonic abnormalities before in-vitro fertilization (IVF). The process searches for specific genes that may carry inherited diseases. This ultimately makes it possible to transfer healthier embryos to the uterus during IVF. PGD, also known as genetic screening, can increase the likelihood of bringing an IVF pregnancy to full term, as well as ensuring the transfer of embryos that are free of what will become debilitating genetic conditions, including Huntington's disease, Down's syndrome, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia.

That all sounds wonderful, and indeed it is. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with genetic screening in order to ensure the health of a pregnancy, and ultimately the child. But it may not stop there. In fact, the future development of this technology may end up being one of the definitive social issues of the new era. And here's why:

In a few years, you may be able to control virtually every aspect of your child before he or she is even born by manipulating natural genetic traits to your specifications. Eye color, hair color, height, skin tone, and even, possibly, sexual orientation.

Currently, the PGD process works like this: during in vitro fertilization, doctors can test cells from embryos for signs of genetic disorders before implanting them in the uterus. Embryos that contain cells exhibiting no genetic abnormalities can then be chosen for implantation. This process can also be used to determine gender, making it possible for parents to decide whether their new baby will be a boy or a girl. Even more interesting is what can happen once future changes and advances in the system currently being used are ready to be implemented. More overt gene manipulation is only a step beyond PGD. Instead of just taking away embryos with genes that could ultimately harm a child, it might soon be possible to add new genes to cells in order to ensure the child has specific traits. These traits could be chosen by parents, in a process rather like flipping through a catalogue to select the perfect model.

So many levels of debate are destined to spring from this technology that one may have trouble knowing where to start. Obviously, PGD is already helping many parents give birth to healthy babies without the worry of passing on harmful and debilitating genetic diseases. And the ability to start manipulating genetic code to custom-design a child's biological features is probably decades away. But the process is already being tested on animals, and the more we begin to understand the human genome and how it works, the more hurdles we'll overcome in trying to alter it any way we see fit.

The nobility behind the current technology can lead down what some may conclude is a dangerous path. We're talking about manufacturing babies. What effects might this have on individuality? How much of our individuality stems from what we're born with, and what we learn once we're here? Some big questions are coming. Nature vs. nurture. Genetic predisposition of gender and sexuality. Will one "model" be considered "superior" to others, or to those who were born without genetic tinkering? Does custom-tailoring a potential human being to meet the parents’ personal preferences minimize his or her own individuality, ensuring he or she will look, think, and be a certain way?

The fact of the matter is, this has only just begun, and the real debate is yet to come. While scientific progress can be a wonderful thing, great scientists know the importance of having rigorous debate early on. And they tread carefully in order to avoid future scenarios like, say … baby fashion parades.

Where Designer Babies are concerned, one may want to consider the words of a famous author whose work anticipated some of these issues, and whose fundamental questions about the line between man and nature can arguably draw parallels:

"It is a farce to call any being virtuous whose virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason."

This from a woman who seemed to have a very clear understanding of individuality, as well as the sometimes tragic consequences that can emerge when humankind tries to impose its will on nature. She may have been 200 years ahead of her time.

Her name was Mary Shelley.

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Keyword Tags: pgd, pregnancy

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Comments

1

I will love to pick the eye color of m baby and make sure he or she is healthy. because I think that when we bring an unhealthy child to the world the child and the parent suffer. But at the same time we should not play around with god's creations and we should be abel to love our childern no matter how the come. Lets hope this can be something the society can benefit from, instead of something that can harm our heneration in the future.

Eli
about 1 year ago

2

I don't agree with this approach to genetic engineering. Stating that a child or parent would "suffer" from an ailment or disease is addressing the child as a burden rather than a blessing. Every child, no matter the deformity or disease, is a miracle of biological processes and to treat the embryo/zygote as a science project to produce a "perfect" baby for a couple is playing God - regardless of the way one looks at it. Mutations in DNA are necessary for genetic progress in our species, how else could we have evolved? Playing God with the birth process will inevitably halt our species in our current phase of development and prohibit the further course of natural evolution.

Brian
about 1 year ago

3

i completely disagree with this
by using gene manipulation we are being completely selfish. we are choosing something four our kids, may it be hair colour or their IQ level. it is only fo rour needs
and by having this choice, will we be setting a new level of perfection for the way a human should look? it is like we are manufacturing our babies.
and what happens when we order a specific baby, and get a different one, do we ship it back?

stella
about 1 year ago

4

This is very terrible
IS THIS WHAT THE WORLD HAS COME TOO??

Yankee Doodle
about 1 year ago

5

I fully agree with the topic of baby genetic modification. I would love to design my own child...like my own little doll!
My child currently is not everything that i ever wanted, and i would love to try out the new technology!

Old Macdo
about 1 year ago

6

Im here to set the record straight.
this may seem like a good idea to some such as Old Macdo
but i believe that it is not. This is because we are

anyways, i think its interesting, but not a major priority for us today, we should just let the world be!

Little Bo
about 1 year ago

7

this is an interesting topic.
i have mixed reviews on it because it is very
good that you can genetically modify your children to look like you...or your mother or sister, anyone you would like.
On the other hand, we should just let gods creations be and be happy with our own kids no matter what they look like

Alice in Wond
about 1 year ago

8

I appreciate everyones input about designer babies. I am presenting a speech for my oral communications course and having different opinions on the subject is very beneifical. IF anyone has any resources that you feel would be beneifical to my success please drop me an email at nad0389@yahoo.com. The thought of playing god is a scary one. I dont object or agree with this issue. I feel it is important to remain nuetral in a subject i dont know much about. we clearly have to knowledge and resources to genetically alter organisms but is it something we need to be preforming. This could do more harm that good.

Nick D.
about 1 year ago

9

This is a clever and imaginative scenario, but very unlikely because traits like personality and IQ are not fashion. This technology will come no matter what because I believe it is our destiny to take control of our evolution. I also think people are good at adapting to new technology and I'm confident we will make the right decisions.

Jake Gronsky
about 1 year ago

10

This is so wrong to me... You should be happy with the child you are blesssed with. I love my daughter more than life itself, i was lucky to have her, i would have been happy in any scenario. It really boggles my mind how some parents could say they are not satisfied with their current child. in my eyes you do not deserve to have the beauty of being a parent. I feel deeply sorry for those who believe they have the right too "design" their child. You know i thank god that technology has come to the point of saving children from defects but it was intended to help not completely modify your child! its not an effing car!

Sarah
11 months ago

11

Commenting back to Old Macdo,
saying your child is not everything you wanted is terrible. Like people have said, a child is a blessing. You should look into your child's eyes and thank the lord that he/she is there with you. It should make you feel like you're not alone, that someone needs you and depends on you. Shame on you for wanting to design another child, babies aren't dolls, they're like you. What if someone just picked you out from a catalogue, or worse yet, what if you didn't live up to you're own parent's standards?

Michelle
9 months ago

12

Technology is a wonderful thing and could save lives or prevent some from suffering, however the problem with this idea is that the public could not handle having this type of power. It would turn into a money grubbing business and all it takes is one idiot like Old MacDo to prove my point. This is a child, not a baby doll, get a grip will ya. You should be ashamed of yourself!

G
8 months ago

13

It has it's good aspects, but can easily be overdone.
Preventing genetic problems is a great thing, but before you know it the child will be out of style like last season's shoes.

My point is, its great health wise, just don't over do it.

Odie
6 months ago

14

Wow, I agree that genetic engineering can be dangerous. It might be beneficial in ways such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis to prevent the next genration from inheriting serious genetic diseases. I disagree with modifiaction to enhace human ability, attractiveness, etc.
As it says in Psalm 139:14 "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well...." God created each indivdual just the way He wanted them to be and loves them deeply. He doesn't make mistakes. Even children with genetic "flaws" such a downsyndrome are AWESOME and such a blessing in my life!!!! :-)

bexter
6 months ago

15

i would love to have a daughter with red-auburn or golden red.
along with green brown eyes.And of course a strong immune system. Did you know that the titian hair is vanishing? that means in a few more generations red heads won't exist.

yes i'm completely for designer babies and genentic engineering. there are so many prospectives of these proceedures.
i'm looking for people with curly titian (red) hair to become egg and semen donors.

Sunny
3 months ago

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