I know. "Jon and Kate on bioblogs too?" Everybody is sick of hearing and seeing them all over gossip magazines and TMZ, but when I read the words "designer babies" I immediately thought about those kids! I remember once telling someone: "I want kids looking JUST like them! They are so cute!".
So keeping that in mind; if I had the chance to, would I ever create a designer baby for cosmetic reasons?
Yes! A hundred times, yes!
Do I think everyone should be able to do so?
No!
Before the comments come in, I fully understand that this is extreme hypocrisy on my behalf. But if you had the chance to pick and choose which characteristics your baby would have, wouldn't you do it too? (Okay, fine. Maybe I'm one of the few morally misguided people here)
The thing that doesn't sit well with me about designer babies is what quickly came to mind: Hitler's Germany. During World War II, Hitler's fuzzy guidelines to who should live is Germans of blond hair and blue eyes. He wanted to keep the 'pure' race alive, known as the Aryans. That fool didn't even have those traits himself!
The reason why I brought this up, is that the idea of societies coming to a belief that there is a "pure' race based on looks is horrifying. In the future, if everyone could choose what their children look like, history may repeat itself, and there may be an 'ideal' look.
Here's another reason why I believe modifying genes for cosmetic reasons is wrong: Western culture's efforts of trying to redefine beauty will be chewed up and spat back out.
The sign reads: You need to be this SHORT to enter.
As annoying of a TV personality that she is, I give it up for Tyra Banks. She defines "supermodel" and is always trying to redefine beauty and loves to inspire young girls. She created the show "America's Next Top Model" which is currently airing their 13th cycle. This cycle is special because Tyra is only casting girls that are 5'7 and under. The average fashion model is 5'9 to 6'2.
Even beauty legend, Barbie has changed her look through the decades to show that beauty comes in many different forms. Earlier this year, Mattel created a new line of "Black Barbies". Instead of the old ones, (which were normal barbies painted dark) they widened her nose, changed the cheekbones,and gave her fuller lips and curly hair.
We as humans have done so much to broaden people's minds about what beauty is, and this completely contradicts it. There is no turning back if us humans start to genetically modify our babies to create these 'gorgeous' human beings of God (which may not be so much God's doing any longer). There will be hypocritical people like me who believe that modifying THEIR baby will do no harm, but as soon as this trend catches on, who knows, Suri Cruise may be multiplied by her adult admirers. That's just not right. Therefore I think people should NOT be given the right to 'enhance' their child by selecting traits, or else we humans will run with it. If you're going to put food in front of a dog, don't expect it to not eat.
Keep in mind that I am talking about genetic modifications for cosmetic purposes only. For medical purposes, and avoiding genetic disorders, I am all for it! People who do not believe in genetic modifications can play the "We are playing God" card. Well, when have we NOT been playing God? It's not like it's an abortion, it's giving a better life to your child.
CNN covered the story of designer babies, and they interviewed Dr.Jeffery Steinberg a reproductive endocrinologist. He explained that when trying to avoid a disease, they can not remove a bad gene and replace it with a good gene. Instead, they let mother nature do her work first. Later on, they can identify if a bad gene was placed into an embryo and they will not use it to reproduce. This technology has already been used to avoid 200 different kinds of diseases.
The topic of choosing a baby's sex later came up. At first I thought: "No way is that right! Men will want boys to mow the lawn and teach them football! And women will want daughters so they can dress them as princesses on Halloween!" That was my FIRST thought, I then remembered reading about muscular dystrophy in our Nelson Biology 11 textbook. There is a sex-linked form of this genetic disorder that affects boys between the ages of 2 and 6, and can put them in a wheelchair by 12. So if technology can detect this gene in the parents before hand, they can genetically modify the genes to make sure that the parents have a daughter. I can easily see how this is extremely controversial, but the opposing argument would come from people who don’t have to deal with this terrible situation. May I clarify that I think manipulating a child's sex for other reasons is completely unethical.
In conclusion, I believe that messing around with your child's gene for cosmetic reasons is wrong, but doing it to avoid genetic disorders is fine. I am all against designing babies just to make more of Smallville's Clark Kents (You know; making strong, powerful, smart, attractive...okay I'll stop.) Science has given us many opportunities. At the same time, science has given us a lot to debate about. Morals and religion vs science and technology, the battle will around longer than these designer babies will live.
Sources Used:
Nelson Biology 11 textbook. Muscular Dystrophy, pgs 181-182
http://www.newmodels.com/height.html,
Height and Professional Modeling
http://www.bet.com/News/newsarticle_MattelAnnouncesNewBlackDollLine.htm,
Mattel's McBride Designs New Black Doll Line
http://www.bet.com/News/newsflipbook_So_In_Style.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished&i=2,
MATTEL'S BLACK BARBIE - "SO IN STYLE"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNdGAFc_45A,
CNN-Designer Babies
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheStixay#p/u/47/cMHNowQzqsU,
ANTM Cycle 13 - episode 2 part 2
http://evilbeetgossip.film.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/jon_kate_eight.jpg,
Jon and Kate Plus 8 Photo
http://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonview_x.asp?start=&search=main&catref=pwo0079&MA_Artist=&MA_Category=&ANDkeyword=designer+babies&ORkeyword=&TITLEkeyword=&NEGATIVEkeyword=,
Designer Sperm Bank
