The Search for the Perfect Child

"Designer Babies" is the term Being used by the media to describe the future of modifying or selecting our children's genes for desirable characteristics (medical and cosmetic). Are things getting out of hand with our research into genetic processes?


Okay, so there has been huge controversy over the issue of designer babies. Some people are for it, some are against it. But before taking any sides, one must always consider the facts.

A "designer baby" is a baby who's genetic make- up has been artificially selected to ensure the absence of presence of certain characteristics. How is this done you may ask? Using preimplantation genetic diagnosis, a technology that has been available to paying couples since at least 2001. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD allows parents to screen out embryos that have inherited genes for certain serious diseases like cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia and many others. The process involves fertilizing eggs in a lab , and when the embryos are about three days old, a single cell is removed and analyzed. Any embryos with abnormal chromosome counts are discarded and the healthy ones are then implanted into the womb (in vitro fertilization or IVF).

The main controversy is not about screening embryos for these diseases, but using PGD to select the sex of a child. In fact in a 2006 survey conducted by the Genetics and Public Policy center at John Hopkins University it was found that 42 per cent of 137 PGD clinics in the U.S. offered a gender- selection service. Fertility Institutes - a PGD clinic operating in the U.S. and in parts of Mexico states that they have had over 3 800 cases of gender selection with a 100% success rate. Many countries have already banned gender selection including Canada, the U.K. and Germany.

On March 3, 2009 Fertility Institutes announced that they have the technology to allow parents to choose their babies hair, eye and skin colour. Selection of traits perceived to be desirable will diminish the variability within the gene pool, and we all know the importance of this diversity.

These are just the facts. Have an opinion yet? I do. I can't imagine what kind of parent would want to choose even the sex of their baby- never mind how their baby looks! Can you imagine what the world would be like if people chose which sex they're child would be? Countries like India and China where male children are preferred would have a while generation of mostly male babies. The balance of the female/ male populations of the world would be completely thrown off. It could result in thousands of single men because there aren't enough woman, or vice versa.

Then imagine parents choosing the characteristics of they're children. With PGD and IVF services costing upwards of $10 000 children would become a financial investment. Just picture the obsessive parents- the kind you find screaming their heads off and fighting with the referee at their children's sporting events. Or the parents that push their kinds so hard in academics. These parents pour all of their hopes and dreams into their children...what would happen if they also poured all of their money into creating them? Let's say perhaps a child was designed to be more athletic. That kid would be forced into sport- weather they liked it or not because they wouldn't be just a child anymore, but an investment. Encouraging phrases would change from "You can do it!" to "You have to do it- you were designed for this! I paid good money for you!"

If people invested so much money into creating the perfect child- parenting would become materialistic instead of loving. Parents wouldn't just love whoever they had for the gift that they are, but only love the best that they could create. What about people who wouldn't have the money for such procedures? Society would become divided between those that could afford perfect babies and those that couldn't. Would or should a deaf parent who embraces they're condition be allowed to select a child unable to hear? Where would the line be drawn on how many decisions parents could make for their children on how they look or what they are capable of?

The technology of PGD was originally developed to help couples have healthy children free of genetic diseases. But let's face it- Traits are not diseases. We can't let the miracle of having a child turn into flipping through a catalogue and deciding on exactly what you want. The world is what we make of it and why would anybody want to make a world that is already so obsessed with perfection that girls would starve themselves to look a certain way, even worse?








The Pope himself condemned "designing babies" on February 23, 2009 as an "obsessive search for the perfect child" On march 4 , 2009 , a day after the Fertility Institutes announced their technology to choose a baby;s eye, skin and hair colour, they reconsidered. The project was scraped because of "public perception".

Sources

The Fertility Institutes

http://www.gender-selection.com/

The Great Designer Baby Controversy of '09
h+ Magazine
http://www.hplusmagazine.com/

The Need to Regulate 'Designer Babies' May 4, 2009
Scientific American Magazine
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=regualte-designer-babies


Us Fertility Clinic Promises 'Designer Babies'
Tue. Mar. 3, 2009 CTV news http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090302/pgd_090302/20090302