Designer Babies Research Paper Example

The technology to produce clones or genetic replicates of humans is within the reach of scientists and researchers. Designer babies are children whose genes have been permanently modified to enhance their physical or behavioral traits . They will be able to pass their modified genes to their future generations. Designer-baby promoters believe that genetic and reproductive technologies are a boon to the humans. Genetic manipulation of humans provide numerous benefits, such as increasing resistance to various diseases, optimizing the physical features, such as height and weight, and boosting the intelligence of the babies . Through the designer babies, researchers anticipate the ability to adapt personality, project new body forms, increase the life expectancy and empower intelligence.
The genetic and reproductive engineering that places the designer babies on the line gives an opportunity for the world to take over the control of the evolution of humans. The genetic engineering employed in creating designer babies aims at the embryos, which are at their earliest stage of development and modifies the genes in each embryonic cell through the germline procedure . Genetic manipulation is a modest procedure than expected as the scientists help people carrying life-threatening genetic mutations by avoiding the passage of such genes to the next generations. The quality of cloning human embryos is a prerequisite for the efficient development of designer babies. Reproductive cloning, which produces a cloned child from an existing human being is not a mandate in the process of creating designer babies .
The technology is not only an important ideological insight, but also a cultural breakthrough towards the production of designer babies. The process of creating designer babies is a complex one, which involves a series of steps. The first step of germline engineering to create designer babies involves breaking the embryo apart and separating the stem cells to perform DNA manipulations. DNA manipulations involve the addition, deletion or modification of the genes of the stem cells . The cells split without the process of differentiation generating colonies of identically altered embryonic stem cells. Disposing a few cells from the colony ascertains whether or not the DNA manipulation is successful. Coalescing the genetically-modified cells into an enucleated human egg creates a zygote that develops into a human embryo, which upon implantation into a woman’s womb grows into a designer baby possessing the desired characteristics .
Nonetheless, the political vision of the concept is powerful since commercializing the ability to specify the abilities and appearances of the children encourages a consumerist mentality towards the children as well as the entire human life. It nurtures the feeling that only a perfect baby is worth to live, which threatens the lives of disabled people . It leads to the promotion of the future of genetically engineered inequality legalizing the existing injustices in the world. Today, the rich and the poor live in biologically heterogeneous worlds based on various statistical measures, such as infant mortality, life expectancy and access to healthcare systems. If the designer babies emerge in abundance, it is evident that the medical talent and finances dedicated to create a technically uncertain project will instill inequalities onto the human genome .
I feel that the debate about risk and safety play a major role in establishing an opposition to the production of designer babies. The technologies employed to produce designer babies turns out to be dangerous as it represents a primary threat to the preservation of human beings. It is the responsibility of the public to oppose the creation of designer babies with the same conviction and courage used to contradict the threat of nuclear extinction . The flourishing powers of genetic engineering to produce designer babies will hamper democracy and social justice in the world. It is important to establish the social command of technology as a democratic principle and a human right to halt the government’s policy of allotting obscure patents on human genes, tissues and cell lines . The creation of designer babies is also an ethical concern, which requires immediate attention.

References

Bliss, J. (2012). Designer Babies. Raintree.
Ensemble, C. A. (2008). Flesh machine: cyborgs, designer babies, and new eugenic consciousness. Autonomedia.
Naff, C. F. (2013). Designer Babies. Greenhaven Press.
Tokar, B. (2001). Redesigning Life?: The Worldwide Challenge to Genetic Engineering. Zed Books.