The much-awaited day is almost here, dreaded by some, and anticipated by others. Potential parents may soon have the choice to tailor-make their own designer baby, that is, one whose genetic make-up has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present (Designer). How appealing to design their newborn to be disease-free, brown, blue, or green eyed, blonde or brunette, female or male, athletic, musical, and intelligent! But in the bigger scheme of things, is it a good idea? There is a heated debate among scientists, bioethicists, politicians, and citizens worldwide about the limitations, if any; that should be set on genetic engineering in the human reproductive domain. Potential parents, future lawmakers, and medical professionals will be decisive in the future of genetically designed children. Hopefully, the evidence presented in this paper will conclusively demonstrate that designer babies have an unfair advantage in society, and will ultimately skew its balance.
Eugenics, the
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Baseball is the great American pastime. The NFL, NBA, WNBA, and the NHL are beloved acronyms that need no explanation. To have a child that is a professional athlete is the dream of many parents. Genetic manipulation could produce the perfect athlete who has the ability to excel. After all, many athletes have already taken advantage of unnatural methods, such as doping with steroids, to outperform their fellow athletes. With genetic engineering, the phrase “gene doping” has been introduced. It is very difficult to test athletes for genetic enhancement, though scientists are attempting to develop practical tests (Simmons). Since competition is fierce in the athletic world with multi-million dollar contracts at stake, genetic manipulation definitely gives an unfair and almost undetectable advantage. In the arena of good sportsmanship, it also smells like