The Birth Of A Baby With Genetic Defects - 1744 Words

Science has evolved rapidly, from paternal test, to vitro fertilization (IVF) and testing embryos for genetic defects; and recently talks of designer babies. The first genetically tested embryo was in the US in 2000 . With his birth, came a law in the UK, (which was where this baby was born) prohibiting the creation of more of these babies. This law was created since the British Medical Association, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said that these babies would feel as â€Å"medical products†. This law still remains today, but the UK has allowed â€Å"the creation of babies with DNA from two women and one man† (Gallagher), to prevent the birth of a baby with mitochondrial diseases . After the world discovered that the Chinese found a way to edit genes,†¦show more content†¦Why is this? Why is it alright to wish for our child to look a certain way, but when presented with the technology to choice how a child will look like, it is seen as morally wrong? Improvement or enhan cements made for health related issues are seen as acceptable but non health related modifications are not acceptable. To understand what a designer baby is, genetics also has to be understood. Generics is the study of heredity, discovered by Gregor Mendel (also known as the father of genetics) and his pea plants experiment. In Mendel’s experiment â€Å"he described the unit of heredity as a particle that does not change and is passed on to offsprings† (Mandal). This means that a living being gets half of their genes from one parent and the other half from the second parent. These genes are what get modified in designer babies. The term designer babies is the media’s name for eugenics. Eugenicists believe that it is in our society’s best interest to encourage families with â€Å"good genes† to reproduce, and to condemn the â€Å"unfit† families. These genetically modified children are considered as the â€Å"new eugenics†; â€Å"today’s version is ‘positive’: it allows for the creation of more desirable babies† (Tuhus-Dubrow, 40), also the original version deprived people of their rights and liberties. The process used to modify genes is called CRISPR/Cas9. It was discovered in china in 2013; before CRISPR, scientist would