There have been many controversies regarding the idea of a “designer” baby. It is a test tube baby: the eggs and sperms were screened and chosen for the traits that are wanted by the parents and grown in a test tube before implanting in the mother. With technological advancements, the parents could eventually pick out which cosmetic traits they want their children to have as well. I do not agree with this idea of a ‘designer’ baby. However, if both parents are afflicted with a genetic disorder then it would be more understandable as to why they would have one. A ‘designer’ baby is going against biological inheritance because the parents and scientists are messing with the genotype, the genetic endowment of an individual. They are not conforming with the process of natural selection and basically going against mother nature. A child’s traits are something that should be natural based upon the parents’ genes and is usually a surprise to the parent. For example when the parents are excited to find out whether it is a boy or a girl, curly or straight hair or which color eyes the child would have. It is shallow and unnatural to choose genetics that are only for the cosmetic usage. Whether alleles are dominant or recessive or if it was an X chromosome or Y chromosome does not matter anymore because they can be picked and chosen to the parent’s liking. The baby would become more of a mutant baby because it was conceived that way.
However, as I stated previously there are pros to this idea if both parents have a genetic problem and would like to make sure their child is disease-free. The eggs and sperms are screened for diseases, deformities and faulty genes before they are implanted in the mother to further grow. There are less chances of genetic mutation and genetic abnormalities. For example, if the parents were older and chances of Down Syndrome was higher, this process can help eliminate the chances of an extra chromosome appearing. It is the creation of a ‘perfect’ and healthy baby. This whole process of creating such a baby is legal as well. Even though the genes were messed around with, they are still the genes of the parents that are conceiving the child. I do not agree with the idea if normal, healthy parents are conceiving the child because it is going against nature. However, that can be overlooked if there was a serious medical problem involved. A child is the parents creation but it is also nature’s creation and should follow the natural selection without having its genes tampered with.
