When I saw this headline
today about 'designer babies', my first thoughts were "FINALLY! It's
about time. I am so sick of those Costco babies!" Then, I realized that
they were talking about a much more somber subject: creating
made-to-order babies with genetic defects.
Over the past few years, there has been growing controversy over the
morality of so-called "designer babies." Since advanced reproductive
technologies allow parents and doctors to screen embryos for genetic
disorders and select healthy embryos, there has been a valid fear that
people would be able to use these technologies to modify embryos and
purposefully select desirable or cosmetic characteristics for their
unborn children. The crux of the ethical issue is pondering how far
science should go in attempting to create the "perfect" baby.
Now, apparently for the first time, there is a controversy over
doctors and parents choosing to do the opposite: in other words, using
science NOT to create a perfectly healthy baby but rather to create
made-to-order ones with genetic defects. To some parents with
disabilities — say, deafness or dwarfism — this doesn't mean they're
making "defective" babies. It just means they're making babies that
are just like them! To refuse them to do so lessens what society
thinks about their relative worth.
Although this would be technologically possible, it's undetermined
whether any deaf or dwarf babies have been born yet as a result of PGD
(Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis.) However, this latest wrinkle in
the bioethics debate is causing quite a stir in many circles. As I'm
sure thse types of debates will conitnue to grow as medical technology
advances, it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
