Designer babies.
The thought that comes to my mind is the image of these robotic children, all with flawless, glowing skin, red lips, almond-shaped eyes and adorable smiles. Destined to build an army a race of ‘super-people’, it’s truly something out of a creepy sci-fi novel!
However, scientists have confirmed that the technology is nowhere near that level, and it is indisputable: as our technology evolves – so will we. Examples could include the choice to procreate or not to (abortion, condoms) and for previously determined infertile women to have children. There is no doubt that every time genetic engineering progresses, social and ethical implications will also develop.
Modifying a child’s genes whether for cosmetic or for medical reasons will change the way we think about children, the women who bear them, the human body and the meaning of human reproduction.
With genetic manipulation, it has the potential to relieve a child’s suffering, and it could also improve treatment for certain illnesses. In fact, after a few generations in the future, it’s entirely plausible that the gene may be out of the gene pool completely.
There’s a possibility of having a human race that has no more illnesses, no more disabilities and no more imperfections.
That makes me worry. We’ll be limiting our diversity if designer babies continue and eventually populate the world. We’ll be “breeding out” our differences. Also, even if these procedures of manipulation of genes and chromosomes are performed originally for medical reasons, it’s a slippery slope.
It is my belief that parental expectations will shoot through the roof. Children will be objects of parental whims, and parents will be able to mould the appearance of their babies and instead of being their own person, children will be now viewed as objects of ownership. It does seem drastic and maybe I’m being overtly dramatic, but there are some parents in this world who already do this. Designer babies are only fuelling perfectionist attitudes towards children!
Also, being able to pre-select the sex of a person also poses a huge problem. In our communities, why would you pre-select a gender? It’s sexist and it encourages gender stereotypes. To add to that, in countries like India and China, there’s a preference for sons, and it is researched that people in the United States and Western Europe prefer their first-born to be male as well. (J. Egozcue, “Sex selection: Why Not?)
If indeed, there’s a partiality towards men, then that harms women physically and psychologically. It accentuates class differences and greater distinctions between sexes.
Personally, I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of genetic engineering of this extent. Do I wish that my genes were reconstructed to lengthen my horrible memory? Without a doubt! I’ve always hoped to possess photographic memory (especially before tests and exams), but if I had known that my parents had ‘planned’ for me to turn out this way… that changes my mindset so much, that I can hardly fathom it.
How much of myself is my choice? How much of myself are my parents’?
I mean, I know that my family’s love for me is unconditional. But for designer children, will they feel the same love from their family? Or will it be a message of “I will only love you if you’re like this, or if you possess these certain qualities”?
It’s ironic. Parents will now possess more control, but children will suffer a loss of it.
What do you think?
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I completely agree with you! I loved reading your blog post! You put a lot of effort into it and it was great to read about your opinions!
ReplyDeleteI didnt realize that parents would go overboard on the idea of enhancing their children. Of course parents will try as hard as they can to create the perfect child. Unfortunately, the children turn into accessories and it might seem to be a competition for people to have the best looking children.
Children should be loved for who they are and not for what they look like. I never thought about how the child would feel. I completely agree with you, if I were to be enhanced, I would be unhappy. I would feel as though my parents would only like me if I were perfect.
It may seem as though the child is benefiting it, but it's only the adult who will be happy in the end. If you child was enhanced didn't want to be a "designer baby" they could never change their genetics. Again, great blog!
Ms. Saran
Section: 01
An interesting perspective; I like the connection to how giving parents the option to select the gender of their children could increase sexism. For now, the technology is not widely offered, but when it is, it could seriously unbalance the human race if we're not careful.
ReplyDeleteSome parents may wish the best for their children, but I agree that this is a "slippery slope". In a hypothetical future society where all children have pre-selected physical characteristics to make them more attractive, parents who originally planned to keep their child's traits 'natural' may be pressured into genetically modifying their child anyway. And this does give a child less control.
I think some people look at designer babies as a means to create a perfect, sci-fi-esque utopia, where everyone is beautiful, intelligent, and athletic. In real life, things never work out this way, and instead, creating designer babies may lead to a large class distinction between those who were 'designed', and those who were not.
"As our technology evolves - so will we", but are we psychologically prepared for such advances? Until we get rid of prejudices, we may not be ready to take on any technology that gives us the potential to follow through with those prejudices.
Overall, an insightful post.
I agree with so many of these ideas! Creating designer babies for aesthetic purposes can leave a lot of doubt about parents' "unconditional" love.
ReplyDeleteI found the part about increasing sexism to be interesting. Designer baby labs really would just increase segregation whether it's by class due to the cost, or just the fact that people will eventually all look the same. The current idea of beauty is spread all over the world, so everyone would end up choosing the same physical kid!
Of course, there will always be people against it, thus creating yet another separation. This is always going to be a touchy topic, I think.
Another point I really liked was the one about parental expectations. When thinking about designer babies, I don't think many people think about how it will change the participants' perspectives. I can already imagine some parents saying, "Too bad they couldn't give you a better brain/voice/etc" It's like nothing will ever be good enough and people will forget how to embrace what they have.
Really great post, Connie :)
Hey Connie!
ReplyDeleteI think it’s great that you compared designer babies to a sense of robotic babies with no flaws to them. I agree with you on how you stated that designer babies will change how we think about children. I believe your child should be in the hands of God. If we change this, than we are changing the babies who are being born.
I never saw designer babies as “breeding out our differences”. That’s a good idea to keep in mind. I like how you included gender stereotypes. I find designer babies for cosmetic reasons 100% wrong. No one should have the right to choose what a baby looks like, their gender, eye colour, skin colour etc. Juts the thought of cosmetic designer babies makes me sad, the fact that this world is capable of such things.
I also liked how you included that parents will have more control over children, and children will suffer a loss over this.
Good job Connie!
breeding out our differences you say? What a scary thought. And it's not just the hipster mindset talking. Isn't being different a marvelous thing?
ReplyDeleteI adore how you pointed out the sexist side of things, you great feminist you. It shows that if people are given a choice, they are not necessarily choosing for the greater good. Great talks, Connie.