Running Head: DESIGNER BABIES

Designer Babies

(Name)

(University Affiliation)
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For twenty years, I have suffered from sickle cell anemia. It is a terrible inherited disease

affecting the red blood cells making them to form a series of sickle shaped cells thus, causing

deficiency of the cells in the body. As it is typically known, the red blood cells carry oxygen

around the body and with the presence of sickle shaped blood cells it becomes very hard for

oxygen to enter organs. It is extremely painful, that my normal life has stopped. I have really

suffered since the age two, going through the agony of injections and numerous blood

transfusions to breathe the next minute. Sometimes the blood transfusions cause so much aching

that I cannot sleep for even a second. I used to spend a lot of time up until I was fifteen, I

suffered really bad. Through the years, I have been paralyzed and even become partially blind at

times. I know no happiness since I am always grim and scared of my tomorrow. Unlike other

children, I did not have much of school life since I have spent most of my time in hospitals. It

was so hurting to see my fellow friends play out on snow, run around in the cold without

worrying. At age eighteen, I had a spleen damage thus being admitted in hospital for even a

longer period. In that hospital bed I would pray to God to only give me a day extra, and after a

day I would pray for another, it was so depressing and despairing. Because of massive weight

loss, I would look like a scarecrow and my fellow kids would keep off me, others making fun of

me ignorant of my condition. I felt lonely and hated. As making fun of me was not enough,

children and even grown up started to say that I had HIV AIDS thus facing stigmatization all my

teenage hood. You can only imagine the amount of pain and suffering I was undergoing through

both physically and psychologically, teenage hood being the time, which I needed, attention, love

and care from those around me. The pain did not stop there, while in hospital I never got any

genetic information I was left like a guinea pig. The nurses could give tablets and injections

without caring to encourage and educate me more in order to heal psychologically.

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There most hurting part was when I was twenty, when I had to learn that my future would

not be long enough and that my life expectancy will be short compared with the normal human

beings. I remember vividly well when an old lady nurse came to me and explained to me that I

would not live for long. That information alone shocked, having though all along that I would

grow out since my parents had encouraged me in that direction. The reality of not having

children in future was a blow that I have never internalized up to date, I was basically gutted.

However, something that hurt me most and makes me to have endless tears is the fact that my

parents had the option of preventing me from suffering from this cruel disease through the new

scientific intervention of gene alteration. Something that my brains will never internalize as well

understand, is how two informed parents would chose this hellish and devastating life for their

children. How can they explain their love to their child after exposing her to such paining and

suffering life. Today I stand before you worn-out and with unanswered questions running in

mind the mojr ne being why my parents leaved me to go through this agony while they knew

very well my older sister is in the same condition.

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Works cited

Dobson, Roger. "" Designer baby" cures sister." BMJ: British Medical Journal 321.7268 (2000):

1040.

Nerlich, Brigitte, Susan Johnson, and David D. Clarke. "THE FIRST DESIGNER BABY: The

Role of Narratives, Cliche s and Metaphors in the Year 2000 Media Debate." Science as

Culture 12.4 (2003): 471-498.

Pinker, Steven. "The designer baby myth." The Guardian (2003).

Stankovic, Bratislav. "" It's a Designer Baby!": Opinions on Regulation of Preimplantation

Genetic Diagnosis." UCLA JL Tech. 2005 (2005): 3-6.