Essay Sample on Designer Babies: A Threat to Society

Technology now exists where parents can create their own designer babies. Designer babies are children who were genetically modified as embryos to remove or insert a desired gene. As science becomes more advanced and technology contributes to this process, medical discoveries like that of designer babies arise the question of ethicality. Designer babies are not ethical and should not be allowed because the process of gene editing is unsafe and is only available to the wealthy.

Even today, where science has evolved tremendously, there is many concepts that science has yet to figure out. The process of editing the genetic makeup of embryos is not safe. Experiments surrounding designer babies have found that editing can cause large and unwanted changes to the chromosomes (Ledford 2020). A Columbia University research group found that when editing embryos for a mutation that caused blindness, about half of the embryos lost large pieces of the chromosome, with some actually losing the entire chromosome (Ledford 2020). This discovery is concerning because it is unknown what type of repercussions these unwanted changes could have on the rest of the genome and the development of the embryo itself. Scientists still do not know the effect of every single gene so deleting one gene could have a crucial effect on the efficiency of the genome or on the function of other genes (Testa 2018). The process of creating designer babies is not ethical because it is not fully researched which makes it extremely unsafe. In many instances it has resulted in unwanted DNA being cut out from embryo’s genomes. Unwanted changes that could lead to new mutations, new diseases, or new abnormalities to these embryos. The reality is until designer babies prove to be entirely safe, they should not be available for humans to produce.

The process of choosing the genetic makeup of babies when they are embryos is not an easy or inexpensive one. The average cost of IVF for genetic editing in the US is $20,000 for each try, not including a separate $10,000 or more for testing (Hercher 2018). There is no doubt that this is an expensive process limited to wealthy families who can afford the high costs. Costs which are usually not covered by insurance (Hercher 2018). This inequality in who can create designer babies and who cannot, gives wealthy families an advantage in what becomes of future generations. This creates a risk for the future of society because designer babies could create new disparities where lower economic groups carry a greater burden of genetic diseases (Hercher 2018). It is simply unfair to allow for designer babies when only wealthy families will be able to use this privilege for their own personal need. This monetary barrier is disadvantageous to everyone not wealthy who will continue to pass on their inherited diseases and raise their children naturally, without chosen traits that could have made their life easier. There is already so much inequality in society, so designer babies should not be allowed to create a new one.

Yet some people support the gene editing of embryos to create designer babies. An Illinois family who had a 6-year-old daughter with a rare genetic disease created a designer baby to remove the disease and act as a donor for their affected daughter (Borger and Meek 2000). Gene editing of embryos has been used to remove mutations of genes that cause heritable diseases. However, designer babies are not ethical and should not be created. The reality is that gene editing will be used for non-medical reasons. When this type of resource is only available to wealthy families it provides them the option and the freedom to select for traits like tallness, good looks, and health of their future children while the rest of society are left at a disadvantage (Long 2013). It grants only one group a superiority over how healthy or even physically talented they can choose their kids to be. Designer babies allow this inequality to take place and completely risk the future of our society. This along with the dangers of creating designer babies and the limited availability to wealthy consumers, assure that designer babies are unethical and should not be allowed in our society. 

In conclusion, the gene editing of embryos to remove or insert a gene and create designer babies is not ethical. Creating designer babies is not safe and has many risks that have yet to be resolved. Also, it is not a process available to everyone in society making it a privilege for the wealthy who can afford it. Therefore, although it has been used to remove heritable diseases from embryos, the risk that it poses on the health of these embryos and the risk that it poses on the structure of society is too great.