Technology has had a tremendous effect on how we live our lives ranging from how we find information to the way we travel across the country. Technology is also changing the life of some new children. A new system of genetic engineering, referred to as “Designer Babies,”
genetically modifies the DNA of a fetus to achieve desirable traits among them. This ultimately changes their life, sometimes for better or for worse. While it may seem to some that designer babies are beneficial, they actually cause more harm than good because it goes against nature.
One cannot disregard that genetic engineering can be interesting and have its benefits on genes. New technologies have been made to combat autism, Down syndrome and other genetic diseases that are diagnosed before a child is born (The Ethics of "Designer Babies"). This is also useful for preventing heredity linked diseases. Genetically modifying an unborn baby’s genes has also been praised by parents for allowing them to be able to “design” their child. This includes being able to choose gender, hair and eye color, and other physical appearances. Designer babies could lead to new discoveries, but is it right for parents to do?
Although genetically modifying babies has benefits, there are more negative and unpredictable effects that can result from it. The process of changing an unborn baby’s DNA is very delicate and if the process is not done correctly, the embryo may be destroyed, which would defeat the whole process of trying to improve the baby’s future life; if it ends its life, then there will not be a future for it to live for. Also, genetic engineering on babies could back fire on another gene. According to Biology major Mona Ahmad, genetically modifying a child’s certain gene for one thing could also affect and turn off genes which control other important factors. Producing a child without autism could lead to even more problems, like anger management problems. This could potentially be harmful to society as it could increase the amount of violence throughout the world.
While Designer Babies may have an effect on new discoveries in the biology world, it also has psychological effects on the designer baby and society as a whole. If the parents are able to choose what their child looks like, they are expecting the child to already look a certain way. This is setting up the parents’ expectations of what their child will be. If the child does not meet their expectations, the parents may neglect them more so than they would of a naturally created child.
A parent should love their child no matter what they look like, even if it is not what they especially want. Also, a naturally born child may become more neglected compared to the designer baby because parents may think that child is more special. This type of genetic modification creates an opportunity for countries “such as China and India where boys are favored over girls, this technology could be used so that every set of parents that wants a baby boy will get one.” (Ahmad).
This could ultimately harm society because if there is a lack in one gender, the ability to reproduce would be diminished. Also, the more genetically modified children are found throughout society, it would lead to a lack of individuality. This could have detrimental effects of not only social atmospheres, but also in the genetic gene pool and could complicate reproduction in the human population. Genetically modifying children’s genes may also lead to social problems. It could create a “race or class” of genetically modified children who may think they are superior to non-genetically modified children.


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