Designer Babies : Playing God?
Is there anything that mankind cannot do? We beleive that we can control the climate, seed the clouds to bring rain, change the direction of hurricanes or change their direction, and of couse we can clone animals. Ah, but why stop there? Why don’t we decide what sort of an offspring we’d like. Why not decide what sort of a “designer child” one would like bfore jumping in the sack? Why not?
Designer children?
A Los Angeles clinic says it will soon help couples select both gender and physical traits in a baby when they undergo a form of fertility treatment. The clinic, Fertility Institutes, says it has received “half a dozen” requests for the service, which is based on a procedure called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. Want a daughter with blond hair, green eyes and pale skin? Coming right up!
For a fee: a large fee too! 
While PGD has long been used for the medical purpose of averting life-threatening diseases in children, the science behind it has quietly progressed to the point that it could potentially be used to create designer babies. It isn’t clear that Fertility Institutes can yet deliver on its claims of trait selection. But the growth of PGD, unfettered by any state or federal regulations in the U.S., has accelerated genetic knowledge swiftly enough that pre-selecting cosmetic traits in a baby is no longer the stuff of science fiction.
Step right up and tell us what you want and presto, we can do it!
“It’s technically feasible and it can be done,” says Mark Hughes, a pioneer of the PGD process and director of Genesis Genetics Institute, a large fertility laboratory in Detroit. However, he adds that “no legitimate lab would get into it and, if they did, they’d be ostracized.” But Fertility Institutes disagrees. “This is cosmetic medicine,” says Jeff Steinberg, director of the clinic that is advertising gender and physical trait selection on its Web site. “Others are frightened by the criticism but we have no problems with it.”
Cosmetic medicine?
PGD is a technique whereby a three-day-old embryo, consisting of about six cells, is tested in a lab to see if it carries a particular genetic disease. Embryos free of that disease are implanted in the mother’s womb. Introduced in the 1990s, it has allowed thousands of parents to avoid passing on deadly disorders to their children. But PGD is starting to be used to target less-serious disorders or certain characteristics, such as a baby’s gender, that aren’t medical conditions. The next controversial step is to select physical traits for cosmetic reasons.
In a recent U.S. survey of 999 people who sought genetic counseling, a majority said they supported prenatal genetic tests for the elimination of certain serious diseases. The survey found that 56% supported using them to counter blindness and 75% for mental retardation. More provocatively, about 10% of respondents said they would want genetic testing for athletic ability, while another 10% voted for improved height. Nearly 13% backed the approach to select for superior intelligence, according to the survey conducted by researchers at the New York University School of Medicine.
With people having children at such advanced ages these days, will Medicare cover this?
Watch the video related to baby play
The second song from VISVASRIT. Members Vocal: Juri Guitar: Leda Bass: Aggy Drums: Sujk Status: Activ Since: 2008 enjoy ^^ Greetz Jil Lyrics: Break it ! By yourself Smash it ! With your hands Wreck it ! No brainer ! Don’t think ! Shout it ! 「Baby play」 Break it ! By yourself Smash it ! With your hands Wreck it ! No brainer ! Don’t think ! Shout it ! 「Baby play」 Our country is wasted We all have no way out Our country is collapsing Can’t do anything… We should return to [0] now We …
Help answer the question about baby play
How long do you let your baby play independently during the day?With you in the room of course…but how long can they hold their own attention? And how old are they?
At almost 8 months my son can play for about 45 minutes before needing mommy or daddy. (in the morning, and then at night after supper)
About Author
As a spiritual-futurist, I have a BA degree majoring in history. One cannot know the future without knowing the past which holds clues to what is on the horizon. The world is in such a rapid expansion of knowledge that we are close to entering a tipping point that will forever change earth as we know it.
I dont understand why someone whouldnt love thier child the way they are. Leave it up to God. Its materialistic to "design" your own child
i agree if god wants to slowly kill babies that he made for no purpose who are we to step in and change his ultimate excuse of it happening for a reason. a good passage" for god so loved the world he killed its babies and laughed" John 3: your mom
I think this is well written. Does the Texas fertility clinic let you know about diseases etc. Like my mother died from ovarian cancer and also had heart disease. Do they let you know about this? I mean most people have some form of disease or health issues in their families. The Clinic would have to let you know about these health issues right? May be this doesn't apply to your paper. Good Luck!
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Also, you spelt 'disastrous' wrong and Jewish should be capitalised. 'Alot' is not a single word, neither is 'aslong'.
'Christians are against genetic engineering is that scientist are thinking about cloning organs and body tissue' is a fragment and does not make sense.
Mentioning God four times in the same sentence gets a bit repetitive. Put something in the middle to separate it a bit. You may also note that the area that is in is also a fragment. 'Taking God's place' and 'playing God' are the same thing and, hence, redundant in your sentence.
I know you didn't ask for that, but all the red and green lines jumped right out at me in Word.
Additionally, make sure you are writing in the correct tense (1st, 2nd and 3rd person).
When I was expecting my daughter we found out that there was a genetic disorder affecting a couple of family members and I was advised to find out if I had the gene as it could cause birth defects. I did have the test and was given the all clear.
I had the test so that we would be better prepared for the possible outcome and the doctors could keep a closer eye on my baby.
If i had the gene and there was a way of preventing a child of mine from being at risk, then I'd be all for it.
But gene selection for reasons other than medical, is wrong in my view. Think of the film Gattaca with Uma Thurman and Jude Law. Rubbish movie but you can imagine what freely available gene selection can lead if not tightly regulated.
Because it draws dangerously close to social eugenics.
At the risk of someone invoking Goodwin's law — you'll remember one of the most famous men in history who tried the whole social eugenics thing?
6 million Jews, 6 million more Catholics, Protestants, Rom, Homosexual, and other "undesirables"?
I believe that medical science should focus on making the lives of ill people better, not indulging in the selfishness of some people just because they can pay for it. I bet if this business starts picking up they are going to find that these designer babies; while "perfect" on the outside are going to be unhealthy immunity wise and development wise. You can't screw around with genetics and expect something not to go wrong.
Why don't you just name him Rambo Maxtrix Ultimum Prime?
It's wrong. Think, now children are apt to ask questions like "Mommy, if you didn't have the choice to make sure that I had green eyes, would you still have loved me?" It teaches children that looks are all that matters. Everything becomes superficial.
I'd also like to bring up that apparently we haven't learned about what happened with Hitler when he tried to create the Aryan Race. The 6 million Jews who lost their lives at his hand have all died in vain.
And, for those of you who are saying that it could limit birth defects, think about this one: say your 10 year old child got into a car accident and now lives as a quadriplegic. Do you love that child any less because of their disability?
Would you have loved him less if he was born that way? He's still the same person, just disabled.
And, I might bring this factor up again: the disabled were at the top of Hitler's list as well.