Designer Babies by Patricia Smith

Designer Babies

by Patricia Smith

“Designer Babies” by Patricia Smith is an article about genetics and how one could choose between different geneses for their child.  Scientists are making discoveries now that can soon lead to have people potentially picking options of traits and characteristics they would want their child to have.  These discoveries can also create baby’s that are free from birth defects, and have genes altered as to remove unwanted conditions. 

In her article, Smith explains both the good and the bad sides of this genetic modification.  The good parts that Smith mentions is that with new advancements scientists will be able to isolate diseases that come from genetic defects and would replace them with healthy genes.  When explaining the opposite side, Smith writes about biotech advocacy groups saying the scientists must be careful because they could cause new genetic abnormalities or that it could even get rid of good traits.  Smith also talks about how several countries like Canada, Australia, France, and Denmark have all passes laws about messing with genes saying scientists can’t alter human genes that can be passed on.

Morally I think depending on the situation altering a baby’s genetics can be completely wrong or sometimes understandable.  For example if a child had the certain disease scientists knew they could get rid of and that it would give the child a much better chance at life, altering it’s genes is understandable.  But when it comes to choosing whether your child is smart, attractive, athletic etc that’s unethical and wrong.  Life is full of imperfections and within ones self we all have things that are our weak points and our strong points.  If everyone had no weak points, or the same strong points, life would be bland.  Daily activities would be monotone and pointless and everyone would be an image of each other.  In my point of view several things could happen if in the future parents could pick and choose their baby’s features.  One would be as said before that eventually everyone would be so closely “manufactured” there would be no difference in personalities.   Another issue that can happen is separating rich and poor people even further.  Let’s say the more attractive you want your child to be, the more expensive it is.  Rich people would be able to “customize” their children however they dreamed but poorer parents would have little to nothing for their child, creating a big separation in classes. 

One moral I try to stand by is that everyone should try their hardest to be accepting of others but also accepting of themselves.  Now all of these kids can no longer be accepting, there would always be that one cool thing they wish they were modified with that they could never have.  They are all like trophies the parents would be carrying around showing who’s the smartest, prettiest, fastest.  I feel like all this genetic modification could create eventually sad children with always more that they don’t have, always aware of who’s best.

Although many of those reasons and examples are long stretches they’re all possible outcomes of messing with baby’s genetic codes.  My position is not 100% set on this debate, but I feel that it all depends on the situation.  Yes if used to save a child’s life, make it worth living I would never stop anyone from pursuing those inventions.  But once it becomes a catalogue of what your child could be that’s where it crosses my morals and where I disagree.