Kayla Klingbiel 12/7/13 Biology 1010 Biological Issue Paper Designer Babies What exactly is a Designer Baby?

The term Designer Babies officially became a term in the Oxford Dictionary in 2004. The definition found in the Oxford Dictionary says that it is a baby whose genetic makeup has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present. The main method that has been in recent development is a Mitochondrial Transfer. Because there is DNA found not only in the nucleus, but also within the mitochondrias of a cell, doctors have been able to develop a treatment that replaces the defective DNA within a mothers cell with a Donors DNA. The debate on this biological issue and over the issue of Mitochondrial Transfers is most commonly over two sides. The first side that is argued for legalizing the option to create a designer baby argues that this new genetic technology will give the child a good start to life. The second argument that is against the legalizing of this technique argues that there are too many unknown effects that could be brought about as a result of using this newly developed method. The proponents of this topic argue that it would empower parents to give their kids a healthy lifestyle. Lee Silver, a professor Molecular Biology and Public at Princeton University argues that Mother Nature is just a bad metaphor because inheritance is a game of craps and it shouldnt have to be that way. Nita Farahany, a professor of Law and of Genome sciences at Duke University says that normal reproduction comes with a lot of risks as well as the use of technology. We arent going to ban natural sex, so why would we write off the use of new technological methods. On the topic of Mitochondrial Transfers, those in favor of legalizing it say that banning it would prevent defected mothers from having healthy kids. One woman named Lori Martin has experienced this personally. Lori gave birth to a son with a rare genetic syndrome. There has been no treatment found for this disease and it will eventually

prove to be fatal. Doctors have recommended that Lori no longer produce kids with her own eggs because this syndrome has been found to be passed down through the DNA that the woman passes down through her eggs. Scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland have tested the Mitochondrial Transfer to produce healthy monkeys and would like to move on to testing humans because of the safe and positive results he found among the primates. As for Lori, she hopes that the advances through Mitochondrial Transfers will continue to progress so that she and many other women like her will have the chance to have healthy kids. On the other side of this debate are those that do not agree with these genetic practices. Many of the beliefs found among opponents have to do with some sort of moral and safety issue. Sheldon Krimsky, a philosopher at Tufts University, has stated the facts that humans have already genetically altered animal and plants. There have been many failed attempts among these efforts and the results have been discarded. Will we eventually discard the resulted patients of human genetic practices if they dont come out how we want? Lord Robert Winston, professor of Science and Society and a fertility expert at the Imperial College in London, believes that there are too many uncertainties with using this technology. Many kids can and will be born with abnormalities from receiving a Mitochondrial Transfer. Winston stated that I think in preventing one genetic disease, you are likely to cause another genetic disease. The very reason for this procedure is flawed by that fact that we could potentially introduce a new genetic disease to the human population that would be passed down to generations to come. Marcy Darnousky of the center for Genetics and Society said that the use of Designer Babies and Mitochondrial Transfers has been banned in many countries. She states that we arent going to make genetic changes that are inheritable. This side of opponents, argue that scientists should not be messing with the human genetic code to this extent. I personally have a very mixed opinion to this issue. Being able to help mothers know that their kids will be healthy is a great thing. But if the method is not proven enough to be safe then I do not believe in the legalized implementation of this technology. Aside from the benefits of being able to help

avoid medical issues and disease, I think we need to consider that fact that the use of Designer Babies will eventually be used to be able to choose certain desirable traits in your offspring, such as intelligence, talents, and appearance. This could become very dangerous, especially within our culture where aesthetics are highly valued. Eugenics, the idea embraced by Nazis that selectively breeding could be used to improve the human race, could very easily come into play here. Through the many medical benefits down to the eventual harm that could come to societys views of a person, Designer Babies has become a very controversial topic. The morale of it all is based purely on intentions and opinion. Only time will be able to tell what the world will decide to do with this advancement in genetic technology. It is too soon to predict the actuality of any of the possible positive effects or the negative consequences that may result from such a drastic change to the world of medicine and reproduction.

Works Cited "Designing Life: Should Babies Be Genetically Engineered?" LiveScience.com. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. "The Embryo Project Encyclopedia." Ethics of Designer Babies. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. <http://embryo.asu.edu/pages/ethics-designer-babies>. Stein, Rob. "Proposed Treatment to Fix Genetic Diseases Raises Ethical Issues." Ebsco. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&hid=114&db=nfh&AN=6XN20131 0091115&site=src-live>.