On February 27, 1997, a stunning article appeared in Nature: for the first time a mammal - a lamb named Dolly – had been
successfully cloned from an adult cell taken from the breast tissue. Less than a week later, scientists reported the successful cloning of a Rhesus monkey, a primate whose reproduction and development are almost similar to our own. Such developments paved the way for a miraculous and perhaps inevitable event- the cloning of a human being.
In the light of these developments, and thanks to
techniques in reprogenetic and reproductive technologies such as IVF, engineering life has become possible like never before, leading to a “
designer baby”.
The colloquial term "designer baby" refers to a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with in vitro fertilisation to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics> The term is derived by comparison with "designer clothing". It implies the ultimate commodification of children and is therefore usually used pejoratively to signal opposition to such use of reprogenetics.
Arguments for creating designer babies Some couples are not able to have children because their children will have a genetic disease and die before they are born or when they are very young. Techniques used to change the genetic make-up of the embryo allow these parents to have a child.
If we want the best for our children why shouldn't we design our own babies? Using genetic techniques we can help prevent certain genetic diseases. This both saves the children from suffering and reduces the cost and emotional strain of looking after an ill child. Will this lead to happier children and parents?
Spare part children? In a few cases where parents have had one child with a serious blood disease, they have used IVF to select embryos so that they can have a second child that can act as a future, tailor-made blood or bone marrow donor. In these cases when the child is born he or she will be healthy and can help their older brother or sister stay well.
Arguments against creating designer babies. But is this right? In these cases, parents and doctors are creating a child to act as an organ-donating factory. How will the child feel? The child may feel that they were only born to be a help to their older brother or sister. Children should be loved and cherished for themselves and not what they can do for others.
These genetic techniques are very expensive. Why should only rich people be able to eradicate genetic diseases? This could lead to imbalances between rich and poor people.
Will we breed a race of super-humans who look down on those without genetic enhancements? Even today people who are born with disabilities face intolerance. Will discrimination against people already born with disabilities increase?
We could get carried away 'correcting' perfectly healthy babies. Once we start to eliminate embryos because they have the gene for a disease, what is to stop us from picking babies for their physical or psychological traits?
At the moment we can screen human embryos to choose only those embryos without the 'bad' genes. But is it right to add new artificial genes, or take away other genes? These genetic changes will be permanent and be contained in every single cell of the baby.Alterations made by genetic engineering would be passed on from one generation to the next. What right have parents to choose what genetic characteristics are best for their children, and their children's children.