Term Paper on "Designer Babies"

Term Paper 4 pages (1297 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Designer Babies

The Abraham Center of Life, located in San Antonio, offers a variety of standard fertility services for hopeful parents: egg donation, frozen embryos, surrogacy, and even adoption. In addition to their standard fertility and family-planning options, Abraham Center also offers a highly controversial option to clients. At Abraham Center, couples can choose their donors' "physical traits and even personality," (Blogicus 2007). Choosing donor physical and psychological traits essentially means that hopeful parents can buy a baby of their choice, picking everything from hair and eye color to skin color, height, and race. The so-called designer babies that come from such deliberate selection could in the future be created in a laboratory, as scientists understand enough about the human genetic code to possibly alter embryonic DNA for parents who want their babies to look and possibly act a certain way. The ethics of designer babies is questionable for several reasons. On the one hand, by removing random selection from the reproductive process the parents-to-be come dangerously close to practicing eugenics: a form of "demographic control" usually associated with racism (Thavis 2007). On the other hand, the ability to create designer babies could be used to reduce instances of disease in the general population or to otherwise improve quality of life for some individuals. Therefore, the issue of designer babies will become one of the most controversial issues in modern medicine.

Proponents of genetically-modified or designer babies argue their case using a number of ethical theories and points-of-view. Some proponents also support a limited use of genetic selection, basing their arguments on situational variables such as whether the designer baby was chosen for physiological health features or for aesthetic ones. For example, Woolf (2007) notes that the practice of genetic selection would allow parents to create ideal siblings: ones that share enough of the same genetic code to donate organs or blood to each other when in need. Greater control over the embryo or donor selection process could prevent some genetic diseases from manifesting, too. Some might argue that designer babies would create a more perfect society through the eventual elimination of disease, deformity, and disability: much of which is genetically-carried. Improving the quality of life of children and their parents could be construed as a moral obligation rather than an immoral act. Thus, supporters of designer baby creation argue that so long as the practice is used to improve public health, increase quality of life, and reduce instances of illness or disease, then no moral law is being broken.

The principles of utilitarianism allow the ends to justify the means. As long as an action serves the common good and achieves the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, it can be considered morally just. In fact, utilitarianism denies the existence of absolute right or wrong ethical decisions like deontology does. Deontological ethics suggest that some acts are inherently wrong in any and all circumstances. On the contrary, utilitarianism permits ethical relativism: what works in some situations might not work in others. A utilitarian who disagreed with the practice of designer babies for eugenics could accept the practice for quality of life and health. Other defenders of designer babies rest solely on an ethical argument based on nonmalfeasance and individual rights, such as by suggesting that giving clients "what they want" is an ethical act (Blogicus). Designer babies could have improved intelligence or athletic ability, notes Ritter (2000). Proponents might claim that human beings should be able to enhance their lives and those of their children if scientific advancements permit it. Others argue that designing a baby can help parents design their whole family, balancing a first-born female with a second-born male or vice-versa (Jakubik 2007). Almost all arguments in favor of designer babies rest on utilitarian ethics, ethical relativism, or nonmalfeasance.

Opponents of the designer baby revolution abound, and argue their case using a wide… READ MORE

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