Designer Babies Research Paper

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Pages: 4

Designer babies are the end product of embryos that have been genetically modified to show certain traits that are usually specified by the parents or the scientist. Genetic editing is also known as “human germline modification” which means “means deliberately changing the genes passed on to children and future generations”(About Human Germline Editing). Changing the DNA of the embryo can be done in many different ways, but the most commonly used method is using CRISPR-Cas9. CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene editing tool that allows a medical professional to add to, remove, or alter a DNA sequence (What is CRISPR-Cas9). Some parents have the genetics of their unborn child changed to prevent diseases or disorders that run in their families, such as cancer and Cystic Fibrosis. Others have them changed so that the child will show the traits that the parents want, such as hair and eye color, height, sex and skin tone. Which would give them the “perfect child”. According to Clayton Naff in his article Introduction to “Designer Babies: At Issue”, it is thought that with rapidly advancing technology, scientists will eventually be able to enhance athletic and …show more content…
According to Francis Fukuyama, human nature is rooted in our genes and altering those genes could change human nature and our values. Side B believes that genetic editing is an unnatural form of reproduction and that it could lead to unnatural urges from parents. They also argue that there is no choice from the child that is being genetically edited. What happens if the child’s edited genes cause him/her harm in the long run? Side B also says that we would be playing God by preventing him from deciding what traits that he wants us to have (Rinkesh). There is also the possibility that the traits that have been edited do not actually show in the child, and that they could show up in unintended