Designer babies – our foe or future?
Posted by eleanorreader on May 5, 2009
The topic of ’designer’ babies brings forward a myriad of thoughts and debates. How will this impact the future of mankind? Is it immoral or just an inevitable outcome following “test tube” babies, donor eggs, sperm sorting and embryo selection? This article, posted on healthnews.com asks what is “acceptable” science and medicine and who get to decide?
Health headlines have grabbed hold of the ‘designer baby debate’ again after the Los Angeles Fertility Institute announced plans to allow an $18 000 opportunity to choose their babies gender, eye, hair, skin colour and otehr physical traits. The service will only be available to couples seeking in-vitro fertilisation. Five or six requests have already been made and the first “designer” baby is expected to be born next year.
Despite the firstly immoral impression of the service, the article introduces other sides of the issue which are also important to consider.
A recent survey of 999 people who sought genetic counseling conducted by researchers at the New York University of Medicine suggests the majority of people support the notion of building a better baby when it comes to eliminating serious disease. The survey found that 56 percent supported using prenatal genetic tests to counter blindness and 75 percent for mental retardation.
Yet the dangerous side of the coin is also brought to light by the rest of the percentages.
About 10 percent of respondents said they would want genetic testing for athletic ability, another 10 percent voted for improved height, and nearly 13 percent backed the approach to select for superior intelligence.
The clinics director, Jeff Steinberg, states that he wants to provide everything science gives him to his patients. Other doctors and fertility experts beg to differ however.
Dr Gillian Lockwood, a UK fertiity expert and member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ ethics commitee, told the BBC that she questions whether it is morally right to use science this way. “If it gets to the point where we can decide which gene or combination of genes are responsible for blue eyes or blonde hair, what are you going to do with all those embryos that turn out like me to be ginger with green eyes,” she said. Lockwood said Steinberg’s clinics could lead to “turning babies into commodities that you buy off the shelf”.
Immoral or not, this article suggests that ’designer babies’ will become apart of our futures – if we like it or not.
