The Moral Dilemmas of Being Smart

 

Political cartoon on designer babies.
http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~cam39380/images/ep317.gif



Scientists are really smart, don’t we know that already? Yes, we do but as science progresses, we start to face new moral dilemmas in the name of smart scientists. Among many discoveries in the past few decades, “designer babies” is one of them. There are many concerns posed about designer babies having to do with what we can do with this progressing scientific knowledge but seemingly digressing human morals.

Designer baby is the term used to describe a baby whose genes have been chosen. That’s right; you can get your genetically modified albino zucchini and then get your genetically modified baby! Designer babies sound like something unethical and completely bizarre but they are a real issue that needs to be discussed. There is a slippery slope between the creation of this for the good of medicine vs. purely for vanity. We have to focus on the ethical challenges we face even if this slippery slope is avoided and designer babies are used only for medical reason because many issues will still prevail.



Designer babies genes are being chosen so the baby has a specific gentic makeup, they are literally building a baby!
http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/regulate-designer-babies_1.jpg 



 The scientific process of creating a “designer baby” is called Pre-Implantation Genetic diagnosis (PGD) and it is used to determine the sex and the genes of the child. The egg is taken out of the mother and is fertilized with specific sperm, then the embryo is scanned for genetic diseases and only the embryo’s that are clear of any danger signs are implanted the womb. This is the only legal technique PGD right now but more are being studied. Some say this screening for diseased embryos is a great step forward in medicine, and some are completely opposed, expressing the idea that we are playing “God”. I have thought way too much about it and I am still split, sorry I know that’s boring, but honestly it seems better for a child to be born fully healthy and happy but who am I to say that a certain life isn’t worth living?

 

PGD is a very complicated procedure that is truly an amazing step in science.
http://a.abcnews.com/images/WNT/embryos_babies_090303_mn.jpg



Another pressing ethical subject is where the line must be drawn for designer babies being made specifically to save the life of another person.  Adam Nash was born in 2000, he was perfect. He was also specifically created through PGD with his sister’s exact blood type so that he could save her life. Molly suffered from a rare blood disease that would have killed. With a successful bone-marrow transplant that involved Adam’s tissue though, she is now living a healthy life. My problem is the moral choice of scientifically creating a child specifically just to use their body. Don’t get me wrong, if I had the choice to save my sister’s life I wouldn’t think twice, but that is my decision. An embryo doesn’t have that decision. What if these children don’t only donate once though, what if they have to do it again and again? The physical and emotional stress would be crippling but what if you are trying to save your child’s life, your brother’s, your cousin’s?  

If you could save your siblings life, wouldn't you?
http://www.babyzone.com/upload/cms/topics/20060090025001300600357120.jpg



Science has brought us this much closer to saving lives which is what we want… right? The moral dilemmas faced are troubling and who knows where these “designer babies” can lead us? As it stands though, this will continue to be a developing and very controversial topic that is oh-so-worth discussing!

I commented on http://caitlincosgrovebioblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/designer-babies.html#comments and

 http://melissasbioblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/designer-babies-are-we-taking-science.html#comments

Works Cited

"BBC News | HEALTH | 'Designer Baby' Ethics Fear." BBC News - Home. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/955644.stm>.

By. "Designer Baby - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998238,00.html>.

By, Park/New York, and Thompson/Washington. "Designer Babies - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989987,00.html>.

"Human Genetics Alert - The Threat of Human Genetic Engineering." Human Genetics Alert - Technologies Which May Contribute to Human Genetic Engineering and Eugenics. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. <http://www.hgalert.org/topics/hge/threat.htm>.

"What Is a Designer Baby?" Bionet - New Discoveries in Life Sciences - Explore the Science and Debate the Issues. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. <http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_cont1.htm>.