Some of us may have that image of our children with chocolate brown hair or big hazel eyes settled in our minds, but if you were actually given the opportunity to pick the characteristics of your child, would you do it? This is a question that I have constantly asked myself since stumbling upon an article about gene alteration with human life. About a year ago, I read about a real-life story about a “designer baby mum” who made the dangerous decision to implement gene therapy to cure her son’s life threatening condition. However, through this idea of curing children, other scientists have twisted the use of this method to genetically alter and manufacture them.
Modern science has rapidly advanced in recent years; as a result, we have the ability to use biotechnology to our advantage and create the “ideal” baby. I am both shocked and intrigued about the molecular aspect of this topic, as well as its ethical implications. Thinking to fifty years from now, I have realized that designer babies can change the population of the world drastically. Genetic engineering will certainly become more popular, but only favored traits will be emphasized as a result. What about the importance of a diversified world? And what about teaching our children about appreciating the unique factors we were born with? We would be teaching them that a desired solution can be easily achieved with science. As exhilarating and innovative as this is, we need to take a step back and understand the consequences before further research can be done.