Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

Medical technology is something that is advancing on a day by day basis to prevent diseases, cure diseases, and all together extend human life. Designer babies was an idea that did not even seem possible 20 to 30 years ago. Today parents are now able to play the role of god and create their perfect child. This is possible through genetic engineering and In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

In chapter 2, we learned about homozygous and heterozygous. Heterozygous is when a person inherits two different alleles and homozygous is when a person inherits two identical alleles. In the case of heterozygous, there are three different possibilities that can be expressed. A human being will either express a dominant gene, a gene that is similar to both, or two genes which are co-dominant. The textbook discussed  many genetic diseases that affect babies such as Down’s Syndrome, Kleinfelter’s Syndrome, and Tay Sachs disease. These diseases could be prevented with the use of designer babies. Parents would be able to have a healthy baby that would be able to function in society. A world without disease would be ideal, but their are also drawbacks to designer babies

The use of genetic engineering to prevent genetic diseases is one thing, but using it to choose gender, beauty, athleticism, musical talent, and intelligence is another. As a society we have our own preferences on whether we want either a boy or girl, but in my opinion I believe that this process should be kept random and natural. There could be an imbalance of the male to female ratio if the choice was left upon the parents. This exact problem can be seen in China today where there is a greater number of males to females. When it comes to beauty, athleticism, intelligence, etc. I think that these characteristics should be chosen naturally because that is what makes us individuals. If everyone was allowed to choose their ideal child, we would live in a world that was full of supermodels. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but we would all start to look the same.

My last opinion about designer babies may be a bit controversial, but I believe that there must a balance in the world for us to survive as a human race. Extending the lives of humans and eliminating genetic diseases in babies is a great idea, but at some point it puts a strain on the Earth’s resources. Our population is already growing at a pace that will eventually run the Earth’s resources dry, needless to say increasing our population even more can only be disastrous. There must be a balance that only nature can control, not a scientist in a lab.