Hasina Posted February 19, 2013 #1 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Designing Life: Should Babies Be Genetically Engineered? NEW YORK — The increasing power and accessibility of genetic technology may one day give parents the option of modifying their unborn children, in order to spare offspring from disease or, conceivably, make them tall, well muscled, intelligent or otherwise blessed with desirable traits. Would this change mean empowering parents to give their children the best start possible? Or would it meandesigner babies who could face unforeseen genetic problems? Experts debated on Wednesday evening (Feb. 13) whether prenatal engineering should be banned in the United States. Humans have already genetically modified animals and crops, said Sheldon Krimsky, a philosopher at Tufts University, who argued in favor of a ban on the same for human babies. "But in the hundreds of thousands of trails that failed, we simply discarded the results of the unwanted crop or animal." Source: http://www.livescien...ies-debate.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted February 19, 2013 #2 Share Posted February 19, 2013 So what happens to all the medicines to make people better and the surgeons and doctors to help people? Will they all go out of business if in the future everyone was born "perfect"? Can`t see the pharmaceutical companies agreeing to stop trading because they are not needed anymore, they would soon put a stop to that by finding a way to produce something the perfect race would be allergic to. First I can not see how they can be sure the child will be perfect, as you mention with the crops, it does not always work and then what happens to all the children who have been born and have not turned out as planned? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean93 Posted February 19, 2013 #3 Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) If it works then yes. With every advancement comes faults but for the most part, GM crops work. Hell, birth rates aren't 100% perfect are they? Even natural birth has it's messed up outcomes too: Down syndrome, paralysis, and a whole range of genetic and birth defects. You can't blame us for trying to fix ourselves in the long run, I think it's a good idea. Edited February 19, 2013 by Sean93 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Posted February 19, 2013 #4 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Hmm, I suppose a bottle opener in the back of their head or some kind of 'sleep' button could be handy... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strong Flower Posted February 19, 2013 #5 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I think its a bad idea. Genetically modified anything is whole-heartedly unnatural. One of the main reasons why there are so many diseases is becauce of modified food etc.. If its not natural then theres no point in continuing with the process. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsteroidX Posted February 19, 2013 #6 Share Posted February 19, 2013 That would be a good project to do on Mars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted February 19, 2013 #7 Share Posted February 19, 2013 If it works then yes. With every advancement comes faults but for the most part, GM crops work. Hell, birth rates aren't 100% perfect are they? Even natural birth has it's messed up outcomes too: Down syndrome, paralysis, and a whole range of genetic and birth defects. You can't blame us for trying to fix ourselves in the long run, I think it's a good idea. A lot of the defects today could well be down to the GM foods we have been eating over the years. With all the research and medicines, you would think that today we would have avoided so many of the defects. But as I said, what happens to those who do not turn out as planned? would not surprise me if there are some Frankensteins who have been trying this already, but they are not going to tell us about the "mistakes". We will hear about the success when they are ready to tell us. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali smack Posted February 19, 2013 #8 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I say NO! I am all for destroying illness and disease but don't want genetically modified babies. I'd rather just have a baby and be surprised with the little dude/dudette. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsteroidX Posted February 19, 2013 #9 Share Posted February 19, 2013 The rise in autism and ADHD I believe can largely be related to environmental/social issues. So yeah Ill take the stand I do on GMO foods only I dont believe this should be even experimented with at our current state of evolution. Just because we can doesnt mean we should. It can always be done at a later time when were more mature as a species. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorybebe Posted February 19, 2013 #10 Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) IMO, absolutely not. I don't agree with any way shape or form of Genetically Modified food or humans. Edited February 19, 2013 by glorybebe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted February 19, 2013 #11 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Genetic therapy to prevent a child being born with a serious defect?... Yes! 100% in favor... Genetic engineering to 'design' a 'perfect baby'? Absolutely 100% NO... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsteroidX Posted February 19, 2013 #12 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Genetic therapy to prevent a child being born with a serious defect?... Yes! 100% in favor...Genetic engineering to 'design' a 'perfect baby'? Absolutely 100% NO... I do not foresee us as capable of doing one without the other. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiogene Posted February 19, 2013 #13 Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) It's ethical to eradicate genes known to cause disease and illness interfere with the function of living, but I disagree on the idea of genetic modification to make someone "perfect" or more "desirable", the risks are too high in bioethics to manifest in the field of eugenics on making "designer" babies or "better" humans. As someone diagnosed with autism in a young age in the 1980s, I can't imagine what processes are under way to prevent autism from showing up in babies in the future. I don't say it's purely a "good idea" because autism isn't a death sentence and making autism less favorable is a slippery slope. Edited February 19, 2013 by Tsa-La-Gie Oyate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExpandMyMind Posted February 19, 2013 #14 Share Posted February 19, 2013 This would change the elitists into super-elitists! Shades of Gattaca anyone? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiogene Posted February 19, 2013 #15 Share Posted February 19, 2013 This would change the elitists into super-elitists! Shades of Gattaca anyone? ...or the shades of Nazism which dreamt of a "master race" of diabolical proportions to weed out certain people based on ethnicity, disability, alleged "weaknesses" and the risk of future illnesses. Have they possessed the scientific technology we have today will be downright frightening (an example of the down side of eugenics). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rashore Posted February 19, 2013 #16 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I would have to say at this time, no. It's not a good idea. GM is just too recent and too new of a technology, we don't know exactly what the outcome of it is yet in plants and animals, it's waaaaaayyyyy too soon to start tinkering around with humans. Too soon in an ethical way as well. We are still in raging debate about things like cell research, abortion, IVF and contraception, and other things to do with babies and pregnancy. I really don't think we are ready to face the ethics of GM yet. And yeah, shades of Gattaca. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted February 19, 2013 #17 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I do not foresee us as capable of doing one without the other. Well what I meant was getting to a point where parents could go down a laundry list of "improvements"... Not just fix defects... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsteroidX Posted February 19, 2013 #18 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Well what I meant was getting to a point where parents could go down a laundry list of "improvements"... Not just fix defects... So what is a defect and what is an improvement. I believe brown eyes and pigeon toes are a defect. Do I qualify ? Thats why its too early. And yes sadly children could likely be saved that will suffer horrible birth defects. But I blame us as a society for that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted February 19, 2013 #19 Share Posted February 19, 2013 This would change the elitists into super-elitists! Shades of Gattaca anyone? haha, shades indeed. They may be able to find a way of making the perfect gene one day, but it does not mean it will be a perfect mind. I still think its all a very very bad idea. I wonder if they make a GM human whether it would have to be fed on GM foods only? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted February 19, 2013 #20 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Genetically engineered babies = homo homogenizedious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rlyeh Posted February 19, 2013 #21 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I think its a bad idea. Genetically modified anything is whole-heartedly unnatural. One of the main reasons why there are so many diseases is becauce of modified food etc.. If its not natural then theres no point in continuing with the process. Get off the computer then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rlyeh Posted February 19, 2013 #22 Share Posted February 19, 2013 It's ethical to eradicate genes known to cause disease and illness interfere with the function of living, but I disagree on the idea of genetic modification to make someone "perfect" or more "desirable", the risks are too high in bioethics to manifest in the field of eugenics on making "designer" babies or "better" humans.Why? We already have modified our environment, our mortality rate, our lives. Yet modifying our genes is deemed "unnatural" as if some are clinging to a delusion that our state of living is natural. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted February 19, 2013 #23 Share Posted February 19, 2013 So what is a defect and what is an improvement. I believe brown eyes and pigeon toes are a defect. Do I qualify ? Thats why its too early. And yes sadly children could likely be saved that will suffer horrible birth defects. But I blame us as a society for that. Brown eyes! me too. Never thought of it as a defect before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted February 19, 2013 #24 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Why? We already have modified our environment, our mortality rate, our lives. Yet modifying our genes is deemed "unnatural" as if some are clinging to a delusion that our state of living is natural. And can they genetically modify the minds? The problem in our society is not the way people look, its the minds of the mad which is our problems! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsteroidX Posted February 19, 2013 #25 Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) OK. If we can GMO kids then we can ban abortion because all kids can be born perfect. Even a rape victims child can be modified to not be a victim anymore. Edited February 19, 2013 by AsteroidX 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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