In 2004,the term "designer baby" made its way from sci-fi movies and web blogs into the Oxford English Dictionary. For this bioblog, it'll be doing the exact opposite. Basically, a designer baby is a kid whose genes have been selected or altered using genetic engineering and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to make sure they have or lack certain features or characteristics. Throughout history we've seen the effects of eugenics - the study and belief of improving the human population through selective breeding - on a society to be only genocide and war. So maybe we should really think about the moral and ethical limits before we give people the ability to determine what their kids look like. This involves answering three big questions:
- How are designer babies created?
- Is there a moral or ethical difference between using genetic technology to prevent disease or enhance human capability?
- What effects could human genetic modification have on the individual as well as society and the world?
DESIGNER BABIES: HOW ?
A new process called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) allows scientists to screen embryos for any genetic diseases and only the disease free embryos are implanted into the mother's womb. However PGD isn't limited to only hereditary disorders but can be used for cosmetic reasons. This is because at the pre-implantation stage, scientists can choose what type of sperm goes into the egg to determine the gender as well as eye, hair and skin colour. According to Dr. Jeff Steinburg - director of the LA fertility institute - they're now finding genes that affect other physical and personality traits like the NR2B gene that plays a crucial role in brain development or the VMAT2 gene that affects a child's ability to see beyond themselves; and everything as part of one greater totality. This is where the discussion between gene therapy and enhancement begins.
THERAPY VS. ENHANCEMENT: THE GENETIC DILEMMA
More or less, we find motivation for gene modification to fall in between two categories: - Therapeutic - involves the adding/removal of a gene or selection of an embryo to ensure that the offspring's functionality doesn't fall below normal human capability.
- Cosmetic - involves the adding/removal of a gene or selection of an embryo to ensure that the offspring in some areas, functions beyond a level considered normal for human beings.
The dispute lies in whether there is a moral distinction between the two. Should there be different moral guidelines between treating or preventing disease and enhancing certain traits. Take for example parents who have the gene that causes stomach cancer removed from an embryo. Would it be any different from two parents who really struggled through school because of dyslexia getting an extra NR2B gene added to an embryo to ensure greater development of their child's brain. It would seem that both parents are trying to prevent their children from different types of physical and emotional suffering. Who is entitled to say what types of pain people must endure to be considered "normal"?
EFFECTS ON THE INDIVIDUAL
When I think about the effects gene modification might have on the individual, I remember the movie "My Sister's Keeper". In the movie, the main character Anna was born as a genetic match to her older sister Kate to save her life. Anna loves her sister, but realizes if she donates a kidney to Kate who has acute promyelocytic leukemia, she'll be unable to have play sports, or be a cheerleader, or a mom. She'll be unable to live the life she wants. In many cases, genetic modification stands to save lives; that is a definite positive. When the purpose of one's existence becomes to save someone else's life is where we see negative impacts. This bis because at this point, we take away some one's choice about the kind of life they want to life. Human beings should never be thought of as a spare parts box. But let's say a child was born with cosmetic enhancements in mind. For example, a 6'4 skinny boy with light skin, blond hair and blue eyes was born because his parents wanted him to play sports. What if he had no interest in sports whatsoever, would it be fair that he was only physically capable of playing sports? It seems unfair that parents are choosing what kind of person the child will be physically without considering the personality traits of the child.
EFFECTS ON SOCIETY
Due to human nature, genetic engineering if accepted can only affect society negatively. Humans cultures tend to create a cookie-cutter definition of beauty that doesn't stand today because it's rarely
achievable. Now what if this standard of beauty became achievable? The result could only be the solidifying of this general standard as well as social failure to recognize the beauty in originality. It will increase fear and hatred towards foreigners and all those who look different because now they don't belong. Genetic modification is relatively expensive so only I foresee the creation of two classes, those who are gen-rich and those gen-poor. Just imagine a genetic aristocracy, and being discriminated against because your parents could have chosen to make you a size 2, but they gave you flawless skin instead. All of it seems so surreal, but with the kind of world we live in, it could be very real, like when we have kids real.
EFFECTS ON THE GLOBE
I find impacts on the global society to be summarized perfectly in the 1999 movie GATTACA. In this "not-too-distant future" liberal eugenics is common and actually plays a role in determining social class. People are deemed Valid or Invalid based on whether their genetic structure has been modified or not. Parents love their genetically modified children more than those that haven't been modified. People are given jobs based on their genotypes rather than skill or ability. It seems cool if you're a Valid, because you only have to pee in a cup to get professional employment after schooling, but what about the invalids? No matter how hard an Invalid works, they'll never be able to achieve their dreams because of their genetic make-up. This may seem like genetic modification at an extreme level, but it's already begun happening today. Transhumanism is and intellectual and cultural movement that supports the use of science and technology to improve the mental and physical capacities and characteristics of human beings. The goal of transhumanists is to achieve posthumanism; to surpass the limits of certain genes. They believe accidental posthumans like Albert Einstein and Ray Charles to be superior to regular humans. Therefore with the purposeful creation of future posthumans, it'll be our fault we can't identify with their genius because we are inferior.
CONCLUSION
"Sometimes we strive so hard for perfection that we forget that imperfection is happiness" - Gunnar Biornstrand
Though it would be wonderful to live in a world where superstring theory was solved and everyone wrote symphonies better than Beethoven's Ninth, I thank God every day we don't. If everyone possessed the ability to see everything as part of one greater totality, who then would find importance in the little things in life. Designer babies are great in the sense that they give children a fairer start on life by eliminating circumstances that may cause the children to struggle through life. Then again, isn't the most inmportant part of life the struggle? The never-ending battle against situations out of our control that produces cancer survivor, great leaders, and decent human beings. I believe that it is this struggle defines humanity. Furthermore it is the likes and dislikes about ourselves and the human condition that drive our physical and emotional evolution. I cling to my imperfection as the very essence of my being.
