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ABSTRACT
Every parent wants the best in the world for their child....but how would it be if parents could choose the sex of
their child? How would it be if intelligence, beauty, even the body type, colour of hair and eyes etc. was just a
matter of choice? With the advance in genetic engineering, this is now becoming a reality. A "designer baby"
refers to a baby, whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering, using methods like
PGD, combined with in vitro fertilisation to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or
characteristics. This process rules out any unknowns in childbirth, allowing us to determine not only the child’s
sex , but also its future!!Although commendable when used to detect or prevent diseases and disorders, creation
of designer babies becomes questionable when used to choose the sex or IQ of a child. Objections to the idea of
designer babies include the termination of embryos and how many disapprove of methods such as these under
moral and religious grounds. In the end it is for us to choose...should we design 'perfect' babies or leave it to
god??
Keywords: IVF, PGD, Genetic engineering

Introduction:
During the last few decades, research in genetic
engineering has been advancing at lightning
speeds. Recent breakthroughs have presented us
with unforeseen promises, yet at the same time
with complex predicaments. The promises of
genetically modifying humans to improve their
well being and to treat debilitating illnesses are
becoming a reality. However, our newfound
knowledge in genetics may also enable us to
engineer our own genetic blueprints—to enhance
our muscles, height, and intelligence, to choose the
sex, hair colour, and even personality of our
children, and to create super humans that seem
perfect. The ethical predicaments surrounding
genetic engineering are vast, complex, and
profound.

What Is A Designer Baby?
A "designer baby" refers to a baby whose genetic
makeup has been artificially selected by genetic
engineering combined with in vitro fertilisation to
ensure the presence or absence of particular genes
or characteristics.
This was a term popularized by media, and not
originally used by scientists.
Historical Background
In 1976, the first successful genetic manipulation
took place on mice, in efforts to produce more
accurate disease models and test subjects. These
mice were modified at the germline stage: that is,
permanent genetic changes were induced by
transplanting new genes into the mouse’s embryo.
The real breakthrough happened twenty five years
later—on January 11, 2001, when scientists in
Oregon unveiled ANDi, a baby rhesus monkey
carrying a new jellyfish gene in his genome.
The birth of a genetically modified primate, one of
the closest relatives to mankind, heralded the
arrival of a new era in human genetic research.
One month later, scientists announced in Nature the
completion of sequencing, or mapping, of over
97% of the entire human genome, roughly five
years ahead of schedule.

This represented a crucial step in our march toward
fully understanding human disease. Equipped with
the new “dictionary” of the human genome, all we
have to do is to learn how to use and modify it at
our will.
In early 2003, New Jersey fertility doctor Jacques
Cohen reported the first modification in the human
genome.According to Cohen, his pioneering
infertility treatments produced two babies with
DNA from two different mothers, which
“represented the first case of human germline
genetic modification resulting in normally healthy
children.”
Although such changes in the genetic makeup were
miniscule, their implications were symbolically
profound. Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for
Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania,called
it “an ethically momentous shift.”
Why Do We “Design” Babies??
1.Medical reasons :
(a)To prevent a genetic disorder being passed
on.disorders may be:
Sex linked disorders: can be used to determine the
sex of the embryo for sex linked disorders where
the specific genetic defect is unknown, variable, or
unsuitable for testing on single cells.eg. Duchenne
muscular dystrophy.
Molecular disorders: can be used to identify single
gene defects such as cystic fibrosis, where the
molecular abnormality is testable with molecular
techniques.
Chromosomal disorders: variety of chromosomal
rearrangements, including translocations,
inversions, and chromosome deletions can be
detected using Fluorescence In Situ Hybridisation
(FISH).
(b)‘Saviour siblings’ :
A child who is born to provide an organ
or cell transplant to a sibling that is
affected with a fatal disease, such as
cancer or Fanconianemia, that can best
be treated by hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation.
The savior sibling is conceived through in vitro
fertilization. Fertilized zygotes are tested for
genetic compatibility (human leucocyte
antigen (HLA) typing),
using preimplantationgenetic diagnosis (PGD), and
only zygotes that are compatible with the existing
child are implanted. Zygotes are also tested to
make sure they are free of the original genetic
disease.
2.Non-medical reasons:To choose the sex of a
child, or to attempt to produce a preferable
offspring.
How Do We Design Babies??
Embryo biopsy or Preimplantation genetic
diagnosis (PGD), is a diagnostic procedure, used
in genetic screening, in which a single cell is
removed from an embryo two or three days after it
has been conceived through in vitro fertilization. At
this age the embryo consists of about eight
genetically identical cells. The embryo itself is
unaffected and continues to grow while the selected
cell's genes are replicated usingpolymerase chain
reaction and then studied for genetic defects. The
procedure allows an embryo to be tested before it is
implanted into the womb and it ensures that the
most suitable embryo develops into a baby.
Limitations on the number of tests that could be
performed on an embryo and the complexity of the
relationship between single genes and physical
characteristics, the number of traits that could be
tested is severely limited. Nevertheless, several
applications of this technology have been
especially effective in screening for severe medical
conditions. One can detect potential genetic
predispositions for Down syndrome and
Huntington’s disease by analyzing cells containing
the embryo’s genetic information, even before
pregnancy begins. This prevents women from
having to decide whether to abort an abnormal
fetus, and eliminates the deep grief and economic
difficulties that many families are forced to cope
with.


Can We Design Babies??
This only works for characteristics controlled by
one or two genes. However, most traits in human
beings are controlled by a range of genes and so,
cannot be selected for. We cannot yet add genes
inside an embryo.ie. If you don’t carry the genes
you cannot have an embryo with those traits.
Further, creating intelligent babies, or beautiful
babies, is still a very far off possibility.
Ethical Issues
Even with the enormous amount of progress in the
field, our moral understanding and awareness is
still limited in scope. Our ethical vocabulary does
not provide us with adequate tools to address the
problems posed by advances in genetics. As
science outpaces moral understanding,scientists
and ethicists do not communicate sufficiently and
struggle to articulate their concerns. Proponents
argue that genetic engineering can cure more
diseases, from cystic fibrosis to spina bifida, than
other methods of therapy. Screening embryos for
predispositions and risks in genetic diseases is also
possible. Advocates of genetic engineering argue
that this would enable parents to avoid the
emotional hardships and economic burdens that
accompany the birth of a child with an incurable
disease. As the new technology becomes more
widely available, new and better genes will be
passed onto others. The social gap between the
naturally endowed and everyone else, between
those who can afford the technology and those who
cannot, will ultimately narrow and disappear—
creating a new age of human beings who are
happier, smarter, and healthier.
However, some critics and ethicists disagree. They
mention the tremendous human safety risks, and
argue that one cannot prevent the misuse of the
technology for non-medical purposes, such as
enhancing one’s athletic performance. Altering a
baby’s genetic traits and manipulating our own
nature, in this view, demeans the uniqueness of
each individual and thus undermines our humanity.
Ethicists contend that genetic engineering devalues
the meaning of parenthood, where children become
merely consumer goods and properties of their
parents. Moreover, opponents argue that advances
in genetics are not fuelled by justifiable societal
needs, but by novel biomedical opportunities.
Those who can pay for the new technology will
make themselves “better than well,” widening the
existing social gap between them and those who
cannot afford it.
No one knows for sure what the social
consequences are if we play our own “God.”
Should we allow humans the choice of being
genetically modified? Should parents have the right
to design and alter their children at will? Should
current research in human genomics be banned
completely? What other options are available?
Ultimately, who finally decides on these matters?
limitations onthe number of tests that could be
performed on an embryo andthe complexity of the
relationship between single genes andphysical
characteristics, the number of traits that could

betested is severely limited. Nevertheless, several
applications ofthis technology have been especially
effective in screening forsevere medical conditions.
One can detect potential geneticpredispositions for
Down syndrome and Huntington’s diseaseby
analyzing cells containing the embryo’s genetic
information,even before pregnancy begins. This
prevents women from having to decide whether to
abort an abnormal fetus, and eliminates the deep
grief and economic difficulties that many families
are forced to cope with.
Designer Babies-In The News!!
US, MAY 2000:The Nash family made medical
history by having a baby boy who had been
selected using PGD to be a perfect tissue match for
his very ill older sister. His sister suffered a rare
genetic disease so tissue from her new-born
brother's placenta was used to restore her to health.
UK, APRIL 2003: An Appeal Court decision
overturned a ban on the use of IVF treatment to
help save a critically ill boy.ZainHashmi, six, from
Leeds, requires the treatment for beta thalassaemia
major, a debilitating genetic blood disorder.
18 JAN 2011- The Leopoldina, Germany's national
academy of sciences, has published a report
strongly recommending that PGD of early embryos
be allowed by law when couples know they carry
genes that could cause a serious incurable disease if
passed on to their children.
8 JAN 2011- A THAI fertility clinic , in the Phuket
International Hospital, clients can have babies
"made to order" in the gender of the parents' choice
and, it is claimed, risk-free of hereditary disease.
In Australia, UK, Sweden, France genetically pre-
determining a child's gender was banned, unless it
is necessary to avoid passing on a serious genetic
abnormality or disease.
Future Implications
In the future, the new technologies may offer
parents thepossibility to “enhance” their children.
As more and more genesare discovered to be
associated with specific functions, parentscould
potentially examine the genetic makeup of their
fetuses,and modify them by inducing changes in
their embryonic stemcells. This could enhance a
child’s mental and physical abilities, from being
taller to having the potential to master musicand
chess. Most parents simply want their children to
be thebest they could be. With new genetics, their
dreams may finallybe realized. Lee Silver, a
professor of molecular biology andpublic affairs at
Princeton called this “no different than givingyour
child advantages like piano lessons or private
school.”
From a child’s point of view, the genetic
enhancementsimposed upon him or her by parents
may pose a threat to freedom of action. Whether
the child succeeds in life is not whollydetermined
by his or her own efforts, but rather from
parentaldecisions made prior to birth. The child
might no longer acceptresponsibility for the things
they do.
There are many social ramifications of
manipulating achild’s genetic makeup. According
to Kass, “It’s naive to think that you can go in there
with the traits that deal with higher human
powers…without [causing] real changes in other
areas.” The ripple effects of adding a new gene are
unknown.What would our society become if the
next generation can live up to 120 years? There
would be a population crisis, the impacts of which
would be felt everywhere, but especially severely
in developing countries where food and housing
arescarce. As science outpaces social development,
the complications of elderly care also arise.
Improvements in medical technologies demand
higher costs, and as people live longer, heathcare
costs would skyrocket.
The ultimate consequence, as proponents of gene
therapy predict, is the narrowing of divisions
currently in place in our society: from social, to
ethical, to economical. Many social divides exist
simply because some of us are genetically better
endowed than others, and are doing jobs with better
compensation. Some children are born with better
athletic prowess, quicker mathematical minds, and
more acute visual senses than others. As a result,
those lacking the genes will be at a disadvantage.
With the new technology, the boundaries between

different classes—be they social, economical, or
personal—will blur as time progresses. Proponents
of genetic engineering argue that the technologies
may be expensive initially, but just like all other
important technologies such as telephones and
computers, they will not be out of reach for long.
As the techniques become widely available,
enhanced genes will become more ubiquitous
through new therapy and traditional means,and
genetic gaps will close as a result.
But critics adopt the opposite view: genetic
engineering, they say, would not only deepen
existing class divisions, but also create new ones.
Unlike other ubiquitous technologies such as
refrigerators and televisions, the benefits of gene
therapy will be out of reach for most. Many people
will refuse toaccept gene therapy even if the
enhancements are made free,due to religious and
other personal reasons. Others caution that it may
take longer than usual before the technology
becomes widely available, due to high cost and
lack of efficacy.Therefore, the economic gap
between those who can afford this technology and
those who cannot will only deepen in the
meantime. Looking into the future, our new society
may start to resemble those dreaded worlds from
the science fiction novels. We must thus,carefully
consider the consequences of the technology,
before widely implementing it. Otherwise,we will
be facing more ethical and moral questions than we
can ever imagine.

References
1. Tom Abate.”first gene altered monkey
hailed as research tool/opponents
concerned about ethical issues,”The San
FransiscoChronicle,Jan 12 2001.
2. E.S. Lander,etal.”initial sequencing and
analysis of human genome,”
Nature,2001,860-921.
3. McGee, Glenn (2000). The Perfect Baby:
A Pragmatic Approach to Genetics.
Rowman& Littlefield. ISBN 0-8476-
8344-3.
4. Stephen L. Baird, Designer Babies:
Eugenics Repackaged or Consumer
Options.(April 2007), available through
Technology Teacher Magazine.
5. Silver, Lee M. (1998). Remaking Eden:
Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New
World. Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-380-
79243-5.
6. Hughes, James (2004). Citizen Cyborg:
Why Democratic Societies Must Respond
to the Redesigned Human of the Future.
Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-4198-1
7. Kassleon et al. report from the presidents
council on bioethics;regulation of new
technologies,Washington DC ;March 2004

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