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
I also agree when you say that cosmetic use for designer babies are immoral but medical purpose are accepted. Genetic modification need not be immoral if used in the right way. There are a lot of people in the world that have disorders and they deserve t olive a normal life.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem is that you never know how many countries actually started this process, to create a 'dream race'. Not all governments can be trusted (especially not a communist government). Did you know Michael Jackson's third son is a baby created through this process (Michael Jackson used his own sperm though). Don't shoot me if the last part is inaccurate.
I'm so tempted to use "LOL", but no shooting Jobin! You are right about Blanket, Michael is not the biological father and there has been a big debate who was after he died. Jon and Kate also had all 8 of their children through the process of invitro fertilization because Kate could not produce children herself. They say that invitro fertilization has a high chance of producing multiples. No wonder she has 8....
ReplyDeleteI knew that one day my obsession of celebrities will pay off!
Tammy, I enjoyed reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people should not design babies unless it is for medical purposes. I also thought of Jon and Kate plus 8 too! Since Kate was infertile, I think it was a good reason to use in-vitro fertilization. However, after if people start having designer babies for cosmetic purposes, we could have a, "super race" - a race of new designer babies, thinking they're better than normal people. I really hope people will not be able to choose the sex of their baby because in certain countries, like China, males are thought as the "superior" race! So, if this technology becomes available to them, the world population would be unbalanced!
Awesome blog Tammy.
P.S. Very clever blog title! :)
I agree that designer babies shouldn't be used for cosmetic reasons. The invention of different ways to help save a babies life from genetic diseases are helpful. I liked your example of the superior race which relates to what our world could become of more parents choose to have a designer baby.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the part about Tyra banks accepting models that were 5'7 and under, I immediately thought of the dove commercial that helped 'redefine' beauty. This commercial shows us how a person's facial appearance could easily be transformed into something totally different through make up and photoshop. Check out the commercial here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
I also liked the picture you posted with the girl choosing different "brands" of sperm. I thought that this picture demonstrated how humans are going to pick out there babies in the future. With technology always advancing, you never know what may happen.
Your blog contains a lot of your own opinion on designer babies which is great, but I feel that it would be better if you added more information pertaining to how designer babies are made.
i was really interested in your opinion about this issue. i think it was very clever of you to put both of your personal opinion as well as the information you gathered about this topic and put together in this blog! it was smart of you to bring up the 'black' barbie, and how the Mattel company is trying to show the different sides of beauty, same with tyra banks and antm. by creating these 'designer babies' we're basically destroying our fundamental belief of how we're beautiful in our own way!
ReplyDeletegreat job :D
I agree and disagree. Since I don't exactly believe in these designer babies nor any reason for genetically modifying humans. But I don't think you are wrong either, I think you have a great argument and some strong points. Great examples as well! I only saw the first few episodes of Tyra's lastest ANTM but I loved it! Such a great idea! And the black Barbie.. I had no idea! Also a good one!
ReplyDeleteI do strongly agree with you on the idea that science forces us to challenge our different religious beliefs and that many topics, such as designer babies will be a popular debate for a very long time!
Tammy! I loved reading your blog I think you wrote it so well. I can tell you did a lot of research on tis topic but instead of writing back the exact things you read you put your own twist on it.
ReplyDeleteI thought that your points were really good especially the ANTM and the black barbie ( I didn't even know they had one like that ).
but beauty is forever changing so in my opinion if you choose the method of creating a designer baby, will your child be considered as beautiful when he/she is 15 ?
.... but great job :)
I really liked your blog since it consisted of your own personal opinions and also researched information. The fact that you used many examples to make your statement clear about designer babies really showed that you related this situation to what people see almost every day. Designer babies are definitely a very controversial topic, and like you said, it’s basically religion vs. science and technology.
ReplyDeleteWhen bringing up Hitler at one point in your blog, it was then that it occurred to me that what you’re saying may actually happen. It frightened me to think that if everyone begins to believe in designer babies, our society will start to live upon the belief that there is a “pure” race based on looks. It’s actually quite amazing what people may want to do with their children, whether it is changing their eye colour or hair, in order to fit in with society.
I found it kind of funny when you brought up Tyra Banks to be annoying, cause I somewhat think she is in a way too. Maybe I think it’s her talk show that bugs me the most…but that’s beside the point. I actually never watched the season of America’s Next Top Model where she casted woman 5”7 and under, but for once, I guess that was a good choice. She gave opportunity to those who weren’t of ideal model height. But with that having said, I think models just make more of an ideal look for society, when really people come in various shapes, sizes and skin tones.
Overall, I really liked your blog. I completely agree with you when you say that messing around with a child’s gene for cosmetic reasons is wrong. I feel that it’s wrong to change how your child looks due to how YOU personally feel what the perfect look is, But when changing a child’s gene for genetic disorders, I am completely all for it. By doing so, you’re basically looking out for your child and keeping them as healthy as possible. Your blog consisted of so much information and detail that I feel it really gave me your input on designer babies. Good job Tammy !!
I found that your blog was so interesting. The ways you compared everything was brought up really good. When I was reading your blog, it felt like as if I was in your mind while you were thinking about it, because all the information from your blog literally drained straight into my head and made me think what would really happen if our world became like this (When you brought up Hitler). I most likely enjoyed the America's Next Top Model part the most, because I personally really enjoyed this season of show when Tyra Banks casted the 5'7 and shorter women to be models. I was literally shocked, because I'm pretty short myself which made me more and more interested in watching the show. It made me feel wanted, embarrassing..i know. If you compare my blog with yours, we basically cover the same things, because I found that our thoughts are alike on how designer babies really works. Like obviously when choosing cosmetic reasons to mess around with your child's appearance is a really big issue. But when you're actually using this technology in helping your children from disorders and different many illnesses, it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteGreat work. :)
I like your view on these designer babies. Especially to all these references that we all know of. The part about Hitler kind of made me laugh because of Hitler's stupidity and hypocrisy, and I kind of got scared when I imagined a world full of people who only had blue eyes and blond hair. I also started getting uncomfortable when you mentioned changing your child's sex. I personally am against any genetic modification other than that involving the removal of incurable or stressful disease. Just imagine telling your kid that they used to be a boy before you decided to change them into a girl to save their life. Anyways, I like your post, good job! :)
ReplyDelete