[kiefer (OP)]

could you tell me about designer babies-what they are how they are made plz chrz

kiefer

[chris]

Hi Kiefer

the term "designer baby" refers to the theoretical practise of using genetic techniques to select for specific desired traits amongst our offspring.

So if, for instance, you wanted a baby with blue eyes and blond hair, and you knew which genes were required to make that happen, you could either manipulate an embryo directly (assuming this were possible), or select from a group of embryos the one with the genetic features (genotype) required.

This approach is obviously highly dubious from an ethical perspective.

Chris



"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[Mjhavok]

People who want designer babies should maybe just buy a dog. Now screening for medical purposes is a different matter. If you have a chance of passing along a genetic disease to an offspring then I think it is ethical to find out about this. Tay Sachs for instance is a terrible genetic disease that is caused by errors in lipid metabolism. Death occurs in early childhood.

[grossoehme56]

This practice might have been theoretical back then but now it is actually able to be used by parents and doctors. The problem with this is that there are minimal legal regulations on what can be selected for the parents to choose for their child's traits. Now, not only can Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis be used to prevent diseases in new babies, but it can be used to choose other traits in parents children now like their sex, height, and many other traits that are considered to be cosmetic versus actually medical which are helping prevent diseases.

[chris]

Interesting that you have resurrected this post, because we've got a show in the offing looking at ethics, and this is something that might well enter into the discussions. As you say, things have moved on quite a bit since the last answer I gave!

[alancalverd]

To some extent, people have always designed or at least selected their babies. Henry VIII went as far as establishing a new church and executing various wives in his pursuit of a male heir, many civilisations have considered it normal to leave weak or unwanted babies to die, and most of us choose a mate or a sperm donor with some idea of the probable appearance and intelligence of the offspring.

It is no disadvantage to the selected or "designed" person to know that he was wanted. The ethical counterargument therefore seems bizarre: the only people "disadvantaged" by such choice or design is "everyone else": but we rarely criticise anyone for putting his own family first, or offering cosmetic dentistry to his children, so what's wrong with cosmetic choice? It's surely better to make and love exactly what you want rather than pick a favourite from a random group.