Ever picked traits for characters in a game? Like customizing your character in a catalog, imagine getting to “customize” the traits of your future child. Their gender, hair color, eye color, IQ, athletic ability, and even attractiveness. This is a serious scientific genetic technology that's being studied for the future. So, what are “designer” babies? Designer babies are known as genetically engineered babies that are modified to have desired traits. This is possible as scientists have discovered the ability to alter the DNA of a fertilized embryo for a baby to possess ideal characteritics. In addition, scientists have also done this by producing a huge amount of embryos, reading their genomes, and choosing the ones that are closest to matching your choices. Currently, CRISPR and PGT (both genetic testing technologies) have been used to get rid of potential genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis and test for them beforehand. As of now, couples can select embryos that don't carry genetic diseases and are more likely to live healthy lives. Although there has been a recent interest in people wanting to perform tests for behavioral traits and physical traits rather than genetic diseases. Parents want their children to be smarter, more athletic, or musically inclined with the hopes of improving their futures. Although, these traits are harder to predict in genetic testing than it might seem. There's no straightforward relationship between our genes and the traits we inherit, like musical skills and IQ. Furthermore, when it comes to things like personality and intelligence, we know very little about the DNA sequence and genes that play a role in determining this. One of the main concerns of designer babies is people trying to create “perfect” children, and people fear a class system based on one's genetics could appear with the rise of this technology. In addition, in the background of embryo selection is controversial ideology like eugenics, which promotes selective breeding to “improve” human genetics. There has already been a clear issue with parents having access to the gender of their embryo, which has had clear consequences. Many parents have turned to gender-specific abortion, which favors male babies over female ones. Even though it is forbidden in many countries, it has become a popular operation in countries like India and China, which have strong cultural preferences for male babies. This has led to skewed sex ratios in these nations (a higher number of males than females), imposing future problems for marriage and reproduction. Another fear is unknown consequences, since with this technology there is not full knowledge on the side effects of manipulating an embryo's DNA and what it could result in. These potential future children can not give consent for their DNA being altered and the rights to their bodies. Many believe that the ethical and moral concerns of these genetic tests outweigh the possible benefits.
In the future, it might become more common for children conceived through IVF by using genome selection. As technology and genetics advance, we must take steps to ensure we approach life-changing technologies like these cautiously.
Works Cited
Ball, Philip. “Designer Babies: An Ethical Horror Waiting to Happen?” The Guardian, The Guardian, 8 Jan. 2017, www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/08/designer-babies-ethical-horror-waiting-to-happen.
Hanson, Jack. “Designer Babies Pros and Cons | Gene Therapy | Genetic Engineering.” Futureforall.org, 2018, www.futureforall.org/bioengineering/designer-babies.html.
Hercher, Laura. “A New Era of Designer Babies May Be Based on Overhyped Science.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 12 July 2021, www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-new-era-of-designer-babies-may-be-based-on-overhyped-science/.
The Economist. “Editing Humanity.” The Economist, 22 Aug. 2015, www.economist.com/leaders/2015/08/22/editing-humanity.
Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board