Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

At first glance the idea of a “designer” baby is seems very exciting and convenient. I must admit that I find this idea of being able to choose your own baby’s gender without any health issues pretty tempting, given the opportunity to do so. I honestly don’t see the problem with having a “designer” baby as long as the process is safe. Most people would look at this as a very immoral or unethical thing to do. That is a valid argument because for years we have been doing it the traditional way. Traditionally, having a baby is a blessing from fertilization to birth. Therefore, a common question would be “what more could you want?” or “why be so greedy?” The point is that having a child is a privilege and you should accept that privilege with no strings attached. In other words, accept and love the baby with everything it comes with. But on another note, tradition is broken regularly with people remaining happy. Whose to say that people of the past wouldn’t want to use this procedure, and had it been discovered then, how much of an ethical anomaly would a “designer” baby be today?

Going into detail of having a “designer” baby, it presents a lot of opportunities for children to live normal lives while reducing a lot of possible stress for parents. I’m specifically referring to children being born with abnormalities due to mutations in an individual’s DNA. These mutations can occur for many reasons, some of which are unknown. A child born with an abnormality or defect most likely will face many social issues because of the world we live in. It is no surprise and unfortunate that people will ostracize or single out others who are different from them. Furthermore, these children will need extra care and attention. Of course a parent is suppose to love their child no matter what, but if they had a choice I’m sure they wouldn’t choose a child to be born with Down Syndrome. Special needs for a child most likely will be a financial burden on the parents, due to expensive medications, treatment, or special education. Responsibilities like these for an average family might be manageable but surely not easy. Also as I mentioned before, children with disorders most likely will deal with social issues that their parents will also have to deal with. No one expects the children to deal with it themselves. They’re going to have to be the ones to explain to their children why they are “different” and how to keep their heads’ up so long as they shall live, even though they may never even have the chance to get married, because no one wants to be with someone whose muscles are like water due to  Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.