Pros And Cons Of Genetic Selection

It is a natural instinct of human nature to strive for superiority. Since the beginning of our history, we have been known to want to rise to the top. It is ingrained into our culture and everyday aspects of life that we may not even realize: school, sports competitions, careers, politics, and the media. Everyone wants to be smarter, prettier, richer, more powerful, and more athletic. What if this idea of competition was taken a step further and someone’s future was determined for them before they were even born? Although this may sound far-fetched, it could be possible before we know it. Genetic selection is a process that is rapidly advancing every day, and it would allow parents to choose the gender, height, eye color, and even the internal

However, many parents who choose to use genetic selection may be uninformed of its negative impacts on the mother. In addition to the expense of the process, IVF and PGD are invasive and can be painful. Additionally, the fertility drugs used to increase the chances of a successful procedure may have negative consequences, such as dizziness or weight gain, that mothers may not want to experience. IVF procedures also typically result in a higher chance of having twins or triplets, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which may be against a mother’s wishes. Mothers also have to face the burden of deciding what to do with the unused embryos - either freezing, discarding, or donating them. This may present a problem to those mothers who would be against discarding their unused embryos from an ethical standpoint (“Choosing Your Baby’s Sex”). Furthermore, the parents who choose to utilize the riskier procedures of genetic selection for the purposes of disease prevention may not be aware that it is not the only

Although fascinating and admittedly useful for both parents and doctors, there is much still unknown about genetic selection, including possible consequences that could be cataclysmic to the future of the human race. By using genetic selection, we are changing a key pattern within biology that has been consistent throughout recorded history: the idea of natural selection. In his book On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin established this idea: “The theory of natural selection is grounded on the belief that each new variety, and ultimately each new species, is produced and maintained by having some advantage over those with which it comes into competition” (qtd. in Kolbert 54-55). Furthermore, the planet has long been ruled by this principle, in which nature decides what traits are necessary for the survival of a species. However, in a world that is constantly changing, if we are so concerned with developing traits based upon our own personal preferences or social constructs instead of the traits that we need to survive, our future could be bleak. As a technologically advancing society, we must decide whether we are going to obey the established laws of nature or break free from their constraints to explore genetic selection, knowing that this is unprecedented by any other species and that our aspirations for