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Pros And Cons Of Designer Babies

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“Humans are on the verge of finally being able to modify their own evolution” (Wadhwa) If you had the opportunity to choose the sex of your own child or what your child will look and be like, would you take it? People will soon have the opportunity to genetically modify their children. They will be able to toy with how their children are destined to be. “According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a designer baby is 'A baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics'” (Thadani) Humans should not be able to design their own babies. They should not be able to toy with how their child is destined to …show more content…

The world is already on the verge of accepting this change. In our world today, many people already try to change who they are physically through cosmetic surgery or dieting. “A recent survey found that about 10 percent of a group who went for genetic counseling in New York City expressed interest in screening for tall stature and that some 13 percent said they would be willing to test for superior intelligence”( “The Need to Regulate 'Designer Babies'” ). All of society wants to look a certain way, they want to act a certain way, and they want to live a certain prestigious way. The people participating this survey are following the standards set for society. Being genetically modified will be another addition to those standards. The thought of having a child following those standards would be so popular. If everybody has a tall structure and was intelligent, diversity in society would decline. “The use (and abuse) of advanced fertility technology that evokes fears of Gattaca…[and] the Nazis' quest for a blonde, blue-eyed race of Aryans continues apace”("The Need to Regulate 'Designer Babies'"). In these dystopian societies, diversity if frowned upon. The Nazi’s leader, Adolf Hitler, already attempted to eliminate genetic diversity in our world which caused global calamity. We cannot let our generation make the same type of

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