Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

The controversy about designer babies has become a big one in the United States. According to CBS News, the technology used for making “designer babies” was originally created to screen for disease, it is called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis or PGD, and I believe that is all it should be used for. I do not like that this technology can be used to pick a baby’s gender, eye color and other physical features. By choosing a baby’s physical features, we are affecting out natural biological inheritance. Natural heredity won’t be possible anymore if you can choose your baby’s traits. In addition, by altering our genotype, we will alter our phenotype as well. A change in a person’s genotype could alter the entire way a person’s phenotype would have developed naturally. On the other hand, the technology used for designer babies that helps detect diseases is a great way to help young children grow up to live their lives free of disease. Many genetic disorders can be detected early or even prevented from developing. This would be a major step in reducing the suffering of many distressed children and parents who have to deal with genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome, sickle cell anemia, and many others.

There is also a difference in the logic behind using PGD to screen and correct genetic disorders versus choosing a child’s gender. If one uses PGD to correct chromosomal genetic disorders, they are correcting an abnormality in the child’s chromosome count. I believe that it is okay to be able to change an abnormality in the chromosomes to prevent a disorder but it is not okay to just change chromosomes just because a couple wants to have a boy or a girl. In my opinion, why should you change something that has nothing wrong with it. It is better to let it be natural and let the natural flow of heritability continue. I don’t think just being able to pick out gender and physical characteristics will make us that much happier as people. However, combating genetic disorders, that is something on a whole different scale; as a result, everyone can have the chance to their lives to the fullest by being healthy. I believe that PGD should be focused on genetic problems that can make a difference. For me, choosing a baby’s physical characteristics is a luxury and we should be focused more on necessities.