A designer baby is defined as a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering, combined with invitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics.
Basically, it is when the genetic code of a baby is altered so the baby will have certain genes expressed, while others won’t. In doing so, parents can practically “design” their child so they can exhibit the traits that the parents want. However, there are so many moral, ethical and social dilemmas associated with altering a baby’s genetic code before they are born.
First of all, one must ask several questions in relation to the ethics of designer babies. What is the benefit of designer babies? Although the possibility of having the ideal baby may be appealing to parents, however there is no guarantee that the baby will turn out with the desired traits. There is also an ethical issue in this situation…should humans alter the natural God given traits of babies? Who are we to alter natural growth and features of a child? There is also the issue with the child’s health, by expressing recessive or dominant genes; they can be prone to specific illnesses. Also, one must think of the emotional traumas the child may experience in the future. The child may think that s/he is not good enough for his/her parents so they had to be genetically altered. There is also the issue to consider, are designer babies true human beings? Can they be considered as natural humans since they are having their genes altered, genetic babies will not be born much like you and I so they are going to be segregated from society due to the circumstances of their birth?
(This is a fetus after 40 weeks of fertilization. By altering a baby's genetic code, will we alter the development of fetuses?)Source: Melchior Meijer, 3Dpregnancy.com http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/agar.html
In my opinion, designer babies and the process used are not necessary and shouldn’t be done. The process is purely superficial for the parents while the child won’t have any say in this matter. In my opinion, there is no reason why the parents should change the appearance of their child. They should let their child be born naturally. However the technology can be used to spot any genetic illnesses that the baby may have and rectify them before or after they are born.
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