Pro: "Designer Babies"

Magnet Biology Blog

My group will be defending the right for parents to make certain decisions in genetic altercations that can be made to a fetus in order to increase the baby’s chance of survival. Here we will list several arguments that should be more than enough to convince all of you that giving parent’s this choice is the right thing to do.

Of course the first important matter in gene technology would be the identification of any abnormalities in a fetus’s karyotype. Many argue that even this first and fairly basic step is unethical, but when faced with logic, are never able to defend their stance. With this knowledge parents can make sure they are truly doing what is best for their child from the very beginning.

Secondly the parent’s rights to make the necessary genetic altercations to insure that the child will not have some type of gene related disease. As scientists develop new ways to carry out these procedures, there will be mistakes, but as genetic research continues the occurrence of these mistakes will decline until they are no longer a legitimate problem. Eventually the risks of having a child deformed from genetic surgery will be less than that of having the child without any kind of genetic therapy.

One of the more heavily disputed arguments involving genetic engineering is the potential of parents having the ability to decide the sex of their unborn child. Currently the only logical reason for changing a baby’s natural gender is to prevent some kind of sex-linked disease. However, as research develops making it safer to change the sex of an unborn baby parents may begin to question whether or not they can have these changes made just for their preference. Without proof any evidence against why such procedures may be harmful to a child such choices may one day soon be another option for parents.

In conclusion, while genetic engineering does have its flaws, just as other forms of medicine did in their early stages; it has the potential to one day evolve into a cure for many of the most devastating diseases. With the freedom to insure our children’s health even before birth we may be on the verge of entering an age almost void of disease.

Ernest Brown
Marissa Akery
Alexander Shelby