Hello, this is Dyllis starting off the new blog with the first post! As you might already know, this blog is about our views on Designer Babies. I would first answer the question that must be on everyone's mind: What are designer babies?

According to Wikipedia, a designer baby refers to a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with in-vitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics. Many fear, that in the near future, genetic technologies will make it possible for modification of embryos, allowing desirable or cosmetic characteristics to be chosen.

Under moral and religious grounds, many groups strongly oppose on the termination of embryos while it is defensible as procreative beneficence. The usage of reprogenetics might in the future allow curing of genetic diseases present in the embryos which has presently been successfully carried out in animals and still lawed as illegal in humans. Such genetic modification can alter anything, even personality, appearance and IQ.

As of now, only two types of advanced reproductive technologies are legally allowed to be carried out on humans. The first involves choosing of the sperm that will fertilize the egg, which will also determine the gender and set of genes of the embryo. The second would be to screen fertilized embryos for genetic diseases and terminating those infected while implanting healthy ones into the mother’s womb.

Are designer babies really for preventing diseases or for enhancing attributes? It is very difficult to draw the line between prevention and enhancing, people may not agree on what is ethical and what is not. ‘It is hard to find definitions of disease suitable to serve as a moral guideline for genetic technologies.’ It is also not right to prevent a disease by preventing the existence of a being. Genetically modifying an embryo by removing the gene responsible for a higher risk of the disease can very well prevent the disease but it need not prevent the existence of a patient who already suffers from it.

We believe that the usage of reprogenetics should not be legalized solely for the use of meeting the parents' expectations of a perfect child. Even when eventually, the procedure is said to be completely safe and reliable, the same techniques should not be based on improving nature, creating the perfect child, rather we feel that it should be applied in the service of disease prevention. Genetically engineering babies would also compel us to see them not as living beings with rights of their own but rather a product of some sort, something that parents can choose and customize. We feel that this is not at all ethical and if allowed, will soon cause disputes between those who are genetically modified and those who are not. It will also lead to more discrimination, in the social context.

Therefore, we believe that it should not be legalized even in the future where it may be perfected.

Dyllis :)