B.G.I. hopes that by decoding as many life-forms as possible will enable them to explain the "origins and the evolution of humanity, improve our average life span by five years, increase global food production by ten percent, decode genetic diseases" and more. China's one-child policy may have prevented over-population in China, but it may lead parents to genetically engineer the "perfect child." Scientists are predicting that in the next twenty to forty years, most babies will be conceived through in-vitro fertilization. Hank Greely, a professor at Stanford, even wrote a book on the "ethical implications of genomics and human reproduction" entitled "The End of Sex" that will be published next year.
Your blog assignment for this week is to write a persuasive response to support your opinion on using genetics to improve the quality of life. Is it morally correct to genetically engineer the perfect child? If China starts promoting genetic screening will the United States follow? If you could prevent your future children from having disease or disabilities would you? By using genomics we could create better crops and end world hunger. Is it worth it? Will all humans end up looking alike? What will happen to athletics? You need to have scholarly writing and provide examples either in favor or against using genomic data. Be thoughtful in your writing.
Specter, Michael. (2014).
The gene factory. The New Yorker, 89, 34-41.
Since the beginning of the human race, there has been only one kind of reproduction, and this is sexual reproduction. As technology and science begins to outrun the possibilities of the brain and do what the human species cannot, there begins to be a plethora of new ideas and concepts, such as engineering the “perfect child”. This has been a controversial topic ever since science fiction books had introduced the topic into our modern world of crazed ideas. However seemingly brilliant, this idea does not appeal to many people, solely because of one reason: fear. Mankind has never thought in the past of creating children the same way that we create utilities, and this definitely frightens many. Pop-culture--especially movies--detail in many ways the “creepiness” or the disorder that engineering humans could bring, which is why that our race is hesitating to utilize our knowledge and perhaps, in simple terms, make a baby factory. Although this would provide for more efficiency and better work force in our world as a whole, uniquity would slowly be lost. Despite the many promises of scientists and advocates for the idea, the “perfect” child would soon have a stereotypical blueprint. As a human race, we would focus in on the most perfect DNA code that our society could use, and the same person would be made countless times, eradicating uniquity. This would probably take many generations for this similarity in humans to be born, but it is inevitable that we would not only lose the authenticity and uniquity of the human race, but quite possibly emotions like love or hate, seeing that all man would in this case be perfectly parallel. Although it would make it much easier for parents to their children explain where babies come from, what difference would it make if said children were engineered not to ask this question?
ReplyDeleteWe have all heard of people who genetically engineer their children to form the “perfect” baby. But what exactly is the “perfect” child? Is the perfect child a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes that is genetically made to have no faults or no DNA diseases? Does the perfect child have brown hair, freckles, long legs, perfect teeth, and a smart brain? To me, a perfect child is your own child. If you plan to have a child, that isn’t even made by you and your partner, then are you even allowed to call it your own child? I believe that yes, people are going to genetically produce kids and think that doing so would make them have a perfect child. But I think if you aren’t going to think that your own kid that you have with your partner isn’t the perfect child in your eyes, then you don’t even deserve to have a child let alone make a child genetically. I believe that if you have a child, it should be your own. It would, atleast it should be, the perfect child in your eyes. You shouldn’t have to genetically produce your child to have it be the perfect child. Wouldn’t you want your child to be apart of you, and your partner? So you can watch the child grow up, with traits of your own and your partner. You could be able to have someone say “Hey, he has your eyes!” and “Her beauty really comes from her mother.” You could watch someone grow up who is truly your own, and perfect in your eyes. Don’t you think if people genetically engineer their child that you will actually be their parent? Just because you give birth to this so called perfect child that you genetically engineer does not mean its your child. Yes, your child may have faults, and yes he may have a disease or even multiple ones, but you shouldn’t be worrying about that, because he’s your child, and everybody has faults. If you genetically engineer your child to have no faults or illnesses, then I think he’s not even a child at all. I think that if the child is half you half your partners, and its all natural, then you can call it your child. Even so, if you're saying you can genetically engineer a perfect child, are you saying that if you didn’t, your child wouldn’t be perfect? The point that I’m trying to get across is that if you have a child and hes truly yours, no genetical engineering, then he should be perfect in your eyes and you shouldn’t have to genetically engineer. But if you think you have to genetically engineer your child to be what's so called perfect then you are truly wrong. What is perfect? Perfect should be your child, thats not genetically engineered. Perfect should be the child that you get to see grow, that is half yours and half your partners. Perfect is the beauty of creating your own child, all naturally, without genetically engineering your child. I could rant on this for so long and I don’t even know if what I just said made any sense, but I just want to get one point across, despite the fact that I think genetically engineering your child is wrong. But I truly think that if you think genetically engineering your child without any faults to be perfect is perfect, then I think you are not satisfied with the beauty of the things you can naturally create.
ReplyDeleteJessie, you make an interesting point and I like it, but you keep repeating about how only a child that is yours and your partners' is your real child. What about adopted kids? What about women who are unable to produce children and so use a test tube or a relative or friend to give birth to a child? I liked how you started out but it's a tad narrow minded.
DeleteIn my opinion, I don't think genetically engineering a child is right. If children were genetically engineered to be a "perfect child", then they would all be the same. Yes. preventing possible diseases from your child would be good, but if your child needs to be genetically engineered to do that, I don't think it's worth it. If every parent wanted to make their kid perfect, then many things, such as professional sports, would soon disappear. Professional athletes have extreme talent and that talent is rare, which is why watching sports is fun and exciting. But if kids were engineered "perfectly", then that level of talent would be common, and take the fun out of sports and other activities. Overall the idea of artificially creating a human doesn't sound morally right to me, and I can'[t see too much good that can come from it in the future.
ReplyDeleteAs much as we seek perfection in our every day lives, this is one situation that it is not necessary. To engineer the perfect human being would be an inhuman task. We are all different in our own ways and the flow of ideas, and personalities thrives from this. To have all identical beings would downgrade the diversity of the human race. While some conflicts would be solved because of this, we would lose our own personalities. It is not morally correct to
ReplyDeleteengineer human beings. I think the United States would not follow China, because doing such a thing to the human race is a violation of our freedoms as U.S citizens. However, in China I see no stopping it because the government holds such total control over the daily lives of its people. I think that any parent would wish for a healthy and pure child, we all have to die eventually. By eliminating disease from future generations, populations would soar to possibly uncontrollable heights, with no way to level it out. As good as it looks on paper, it would hurt our species as a whole. I do not think it would lead to identical human beings. For that to take place, we would all have to come from identical parents( which is scary to think about). In this system athletics would have to cease to exist. No humans would technically have any advantage over each other in sports. It would be a never ending game of equal talents. Genetics should NOT be used to improve our quality of life. It would eventually lead to worse problems, than it is trying to solve.
In modern society, mankind has advanced tremendously with technology. From the discovery of DNA's structure to modern appliances, what more could we possibly want? "Perfection." With B.G.I.'s goal to try and explain both our origin and evolution, they are also taking risks with this plan. Considering the amount of issues that already need to be tended, I believe that using genetics to improve satisfaction will end up being detrimental. Although a better life may be beautiful, would that same idea still be beautiful 20 years later? To start off, the thought of trying to genetically engineer the perfect child is both absurd and wrong. The definition of perfects is blank because this idea all boils down to opinion. Besides, how well would having "perfect children" play out? Taking into account events such as The Holocaust, The Civil Rights Movement, and the conflicts of obtaining LGBT rights in Russia, imagine how much chaos that would result! With 70 years worth of death, tears, and bruises, why would we want to throw away what little equality that we have obtained due to the mere opinions of administrators? Realistically, if China starts to promote genetic screening then other countries will follow, especially the U.S. We are one of China's top consumers, and if a discovery as big as this is advertised, there is no doubt that our country would seek to participate in genetic screening as well. Speaking of which, with all of this talk about how genetics can result in a better life, illness and disease are a top priority. Personally, if I could prevent my future offspring from having diseases or disabilities, I would not end up taking the opportunity. Despite the idea of an ill-free world being thoughtful, by following through with this society would be at a detriment. Over time, humans would gradually become the same, and although we may be more pure, we would lose our individualism. In addition, mistakes are always probable, and if a sample of DNA encounters mutation and someone is not "perfect," there is a chance that once given enough time, man may forget how to cope with those who are distinct. On a similar note, agriculture would experience similar circumstances. After improving our crops by x% in order to achieve our goals, exactly how much debt would we be in? With the economy in its current state, despite for a good cause, it is likely that strong consequences will follow. As iterated, every relationship involves a give and a take, yet the exact amount is still yet to be known. As genetics would evolve, how much are we truly benefiting from? If perfect children were encountered, humans would gradually begin to become more similar to one another, and life would gradually lose its meaning. Through this celibate procedure, children will appear, act, and behave like clones, and with clones comes uniformity. Athletics, statistics, talents-- no one would be different from one another. What purpose would there be in sports games or major events such as The Olympics if the odds of victory are based on mere chance? Better yet, what benefits would we have through expressing who we really are? Truthfully, none. The idea of evolution is not a fearful thought, yet with anything, if it is put into the wrong hands a nightmare is imminent, especially with the key elements that compose the entire world's identity.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the artificial creation of human beings through genetic engineering is becoming less of a fantasy and more of a reality, it remains a very controversial topic. Until humankind thoroughly explores the intricacy that is the DNA code, genetically engineering babies should be out of the question. Even with the wealth of advanced information our generations are fortunate to have, genetic science is still an incipient science, with 98% of our DNA currently classified as "junk DNA." Is 98% of the genetic code not important, or have we just not discovered all there is to know about it? If just one nitrogen base is off, a potentially deadly mutation could happen. Scientists do not have the knowledge yet to prevent such mutations as evidenced by the fact that even genetically modified food is causing an uproar, with apparent plant disease resistance decreasing and people concerned for its impact on the human body. According to Mike Stagman, P.h.d. “Genetic Engineering is a nightmare technology that has already caused MANY disease epidemics — documented but unpublicized” (http://www.globalresearch.ca/gmo-and-morgellons-disease/8464). This raises a fascinating point; genetically modifying babies may not be beneficial but rather detrimental. So far, scientists have failed to prove that they can genetically modify anything successfully, and until they do with something less important than human life,should not be allowed to experiment with fetuses/embryos/ etc. Furthermore, even if the technology to correctly genetically modify children existed, the impacts would be no less than extraordinary. Given our past history and the fact that "history repeats itself", either the genetically modified or natural born child would be discriminated against. In all aspects of life, change would abound. Beauty, athletics, politics, warfare, academics, technology would all be impacted. Is the world ready for this? Will the world ever be ready for this?
ReplyDeleteI think that it is morally corrupt to genetically engineer "the perfect child." While it might be a nice idea to prevent disease and life threatening disorders, eventually the noble intent would devolve into a race to create the strongest, most intelligent human possible at all costs. If we were to genetically engineer desirable traits into people, everyone would be clamoring for a piece of the action, to make their child have their great-great grandmother's eyes, to have blond hair in a family of brunettes, to be stronger and smarter than perhaps the parents' rival's child. And let's think about military benefits. Every nation in the world would be salivating at the prospect of a super soldier, and once one was created, wouldn't the entire world be consumed in warfare and the effort of trying to create an even better soldier, better than their enemy's? The world is better off without the temptations if genetic engineering, because there are more evil uses than good ones for this new technology.
ReplyDeleteImagine walking down the hallway at school and everyone was “perfect”. Everyone looked the same. I think that genetically engineering a child would be wrong. There would be no variety in height, weight, body shape, or any features at all. You could not see your child grow up to look like you or your spouse. I think having the blue eyes of your father or the red hair of your mother makes you feel like a part of your family. If no one had faults, life would be pretty boring. I think we learn from our mistakes and if nobody made mistakes, we wouldn’t learn! Although, genetically engineering could prevent disabilities. My youth group leader has two children who both have Spina Bifida. Through tests, they have found that the possibilities of having a healthy child is slim to none. I’m sure they would give a lot to have a healthy child, but I know she loves her children more than anything because they are HER children and they are the happiest and smiliest children I have ever seen. I do believe that the ability to prevent disease and disability would be the only plus side to genetically engineering a child. To us, genetically engineering babies seems like something from a fantasy story, but we may be closer to it than we think.
ReplyDeleteCreating the perfect child seems appealing to me and others but I don’t think it is right. If every child were genetically engineered then all children would be the same and not be unique and special to their parents and society. I do think that preventing any diseases from happening in children would be amazing. No one wants to be sick or have a crazy disease, so I am for genetically engineering children to not have diseases. There are a lot of people in the world who are starving because they can't get their hands on food. I think engineering food so there is more of it and food in places that can't grow some foods is a great idea. This will cut the amount of people starving dramatically if genetically engineering food works. The world of sports is very competitive. But what if everyone could bench 200 pounds? That would not even be competition anymore it would just be that everyone could make it to the Olympics or professional leagues. Good competition is healthy and should stay that way. I think the world of sports would struggle if we genetically engineered people.
ReplyDeleteI think that creating the perfect child would be wrong, but genetically engineering a human who has no possible chance of developing or mutating a disease, is ok. Now I know you're thinking that I'm just saying that a perfect child would be right, wrong. In a world where everything was perfect, technology, people, etc. Think of what would happen to the things that the people of today love, for example, sports. If we had a world of perfect children that had all the abilities of the greatest players of all-time, why would we watch it or even play it if everything were played perfectly and every game or match would end in a tie, there would be forever long tennis matches and so on. Another big change would be no schools because creating the perfect child would mean it knows everything so there would be no need for schools. And because of that, what kind of jobs would there be? If everyone could do the same exact thing then jobs would have no purpose. If the world thinks it's ready for a big leap forward like this, it has no idea what is going to happen.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to your comment on the need for school would no longer be necessary, I feel like it would be. Even with these advancements, I highly doubt we will have reached the point where we could surgically download all known knowledge, and it will still be a thing that must be taught. Commenting on the idea that athletics would become a thing of the past, I believe that they would continue on because while people may have the ability I doubt that everyone will want to participate in sports. There has not been any discoveries on which genes code for preference so far.
DeleteFrom the start, ever since 4.5 billion years ago, genetic engineering hasn't struck an interest until now, the so called "Age of Technology" one might say. Though why now is civilization craving the thought of perfection? Wanting to advance further and further, speed of evolution in some aspects. Though the thought of "human perfection" is frightening. If this goal was someday achieved, there would be no motivation, no will to better oneself because one is already in possession of perfection. And us humans,are not perfect our selfs ,so how is it even possible that we could engineer the perfect human? Though in aspects of food,plant etc. mutation, its completely fine. But personally, trying to engineer a child to have no birth defects or disabilities should not be allowed. Today in society, we learn so much from the ones around that have birth defects. For example: Zach Sobiech and Lizzie Valquez ( look them up if needed) are inspirational speakers that have taken from experiences and have made a large impact with the lessons they teach. If we didn't have people like that in the world, it would be boring, nothing to learn, which is why i strongly disagree with human genetic engineering;(it would mess with the order of life). And if China were to start genetic engineering , I completely agree that America would follow. Us as a nation usually are lacking a backbone. We take ideas and pursue them because if more intelligent countries are doing something, "we have to do it". Though the fact of genetic engineering strikes another cord, will we all look alike? Not at first. At first we would all act the same, and over maybe a century we would all look similiar do to shared characteristics and behavior. Which in other facts, make sports "unappealing". Reaching maximum compacity of knowledge and everything else, we woukd all platue in sports. The human race may have wars, debates, economic issues and everything in between, but I'd rather have that then being forced to a world where nothings unique, and is the best described ideal of perfect.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinions I think that we should stay away from using genetics to improve life for people, with exceptions. I think that if you have a child with disabilities and you are able to fix it, you should be able to. But I don't think that you should take advantage of it just to have an athletic kid with a great mind. I think that if China does start using genetics that the U.S. will also start because we always want to be "in the loop". If we could end world hunger by using this advancement, we should only do it for people who truly need it. The only reason I am skeptical about using genetics to make life better is because there is always going to be someone who takes advantage of it and uses it to do something they are't supposed to.
ReplyDeleteIf, in China, it were possible to engineer children, the United States would not follow. If a large percentage of Americans see abortion as murder, scientists meddling in the genes of unborn children would not be taken well. The procedure necessary to create a “perfect child” would be horrendously expensive, anyway, so only the very wealthy could afford to do so. Because there would be a large push to outlaw this costly process (like the current one debating the morals of abortion), most Americans would continue having children the “old fashioned way”.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as scientific advancements make the process cheaper and easier, Americans would begin to warm to the idea. Assuming that the process would allow parents to choose what their child looks like, a stereotype would form in the shape of a “perfect” human being. Unfortunately, as humans struggle to get closer to the blueprint, many will begin to choose potential partners based on how “perfect” their DNA is and what that person could contribute to a “perfect child”. Humans would selectively breed themselves out of unwanted traits!
If humans are breeding themselves according to a standard, they would all start to become rather similar. Eradication of genetic disease, addition of genetic immunity and the fine tuning of aesthetics could lead to several people having almost the exact same DNA. What happens when disaster strikes in the form of a new disease? No one would be born with genetic immunity for an unknown disease, so population would drop dramatically. Since everyone is the same, and no one can combat the disease, there would be very few survivors.
Genetic engineering could also lead to countries breeding their own soldiers in the correct “format”, leading to more intense debates involving ethics. Death tolls in war would grow as better and better soldiers were created to fight. Battles would be bloodier and impoverished countries who couldn’t afford to engineer supersoldiers would be quickly enveloped by their larger, richer neighbors. Wealth would define the winner in every skirmish and contest, not just wars. Athletes would be bred to be faster; doctors would be bred to be smarter. An entire destiny for an individual would be decided even before conception! While this would eliminate any possibility of a mid-life crisis, part of being human is making choices and facing consequences. If we remove the element of choice from the human condition, what do we leave behind?
ReplyDeleteThe idea of being able to create the "perfect child" sounds appealing, and in my opinion doesn't seem particularly unmoral because how can it be wrong to want a better life for your own offspring? Wouldn't it be better to live in a world where barely anyone had to regularly live with pain? Personally I don't ever see myself wanting children, but if I ever decided I did, of course I would try to ensure that they would be born as healthy as possible.
You have to consider the price on the package though. A world without disease sounds great, but everything has a cost. Even with all of the diseases currently plaguing the human race our population is growing, and fast. If having your children guaranteed to be genetically perfect becomes an option, to keep the human population down, a law like that in China would have to be put in place on how many children you are allowed to have. Limiting child birth would be the only way to save us from becoming over populated. If you can except that though, then this sounds like an ideal plan.
With the ability to "pick and chose" how our children will turn out there is a possibility that future generations could ended looking very similar, but you must also take into consideration that not everyone has the same ideal on what looks best. I don't see why athletics would have to become a problem, because while everyone may end up having the ideal physique to play sports, that does not mean everyone will want to. There are also somethings that you can't be born with and have to work for, such as a high muscle mass.
In America we are always focused on how we can be better that everyone else, so I definitely believe that if China started promoting genetic screening Americans would definitely want the same technology available to them as well. If we're going in for a little, we might as well go in for the lot. On top of genetically modifying our children, we might as well create better and more plentiful crops in effort to stop world hunger as well. We all need a little more science in our lives, don't we?
From previous knowledge, I see the genetic screening beginning as something low-key and primarily used for medical reasons or other mandatory corrections for our children. However, like our modern technology, the horizons of this procedure will double in a few years time and we will be performing the impossible- maybe even a super child! I find that many procedures such as cosmetic surgery and other modification processes have been abused in our generation and this genetic screening will soon follow. My take is how unnatural and dystopic this whole process is. It feels like we are playing God at who will be the perfect children and who will be the ones left out in the corner since they didn't have that opportunity; these social boundaries will be etched even stronger. And what about the children who do end up perfect? Will they grow up to feel unique with a strong individuality? I doubt it if he looks exactly the same as a child next door; they're both the newest model in looks and skills. In said skills the amount of awe we feel today for those who are born naturally gifted will be dramatically lowered since it's simply scientific technology and easy to re-create. However, improvements in genetics does have its perks in terms of the mass production of plant life. This could be the answer for world hunger and restoring the earth’s forests! The benefits when it comes to plant life are endless. The failures when it comes to animals are destined to occur.
ReplyDeleteEven though the technology to genetically engineer children is now becoming real, i do not think its a good idea. If you were to genetically change your baby to be so called perfect, then what wouldn't be considered perfect? If you had this perfect baby per say, how would your baby be different in intelligence to other kids? How would you determine intelligence? you couldnt. there would be no norm. now if you were to say fix a chromosome problem or genetic disease, that would be perfectly fine. just don't get crazy with it. I agree with genetic engineering kids to fix genetic disease and such like that, just don't get too carried away.
ReplyDeleteGenetic engineering raises a lot of moral and ethical questions around the globe. Is it right to engineer children rather than have them through natural birth? No, it is in fact my opinion that it is morally unjust to genetically engineer a child. Engineering a child may have consequences we can't predict yet. There hasn't been enough real life time tests to prove that this is safe for the child. Even when a child is adopted they tend to feel a pull towards their biological parents. Children like to be able to look up to someone and say that's where I got my eye color from. By creating a child your taking that away from them. If China starts this process it could have world wide repercussions. Including, the U.S. possibly following suit. We trade a lot with China and are deeply invested with them as an ally so it would only make sense for us to want to do the same things there doing. Not to mention we have been in a sort of technological race to be the most advanced country for a while. I understand that the idea of ending world hunger and disease are amazing and I want that too. But not if we have to sacrifice the definition of human in return for it. It is possible that with this new technology we could become a giant blob of identical humans. We could lose our most beloved sports. We know that mutated genes sometimes end in really bad things such as sickle cell disease or down's syndrome. Changing someones pattern of DNA to try and make them perfect could be easily screwed up and endanger that child. We can't abandon all logical definitions of humanity in some whimsical hope of a perfect society.
ReplyDeleteHumans as a whole should not try to genetically engineer other humans. Although genetic engineering would solve many problems, there are negative side effects. For one, humans are all different and choosing someone with good DNA doesn’t always mean they’ll be a good person. After all, many famous inventors and people had bad health and diseases. If only people with good DNA are chosen, we’ll never know what the so called “weaker” people could of done in their life. Also, in the matter of competition like sports, a “perfect child” who was better or stronger would have an extreme advantage. It would almost be like steroids because one person is better than the rest. Playing sports myself, it would also take the fun out of them if I was better than everybody else. There would be no point because I would be able to beat everybody. The whole point of sports is train to be better, not just be better because you’re DNA is better than somebody else’s.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason why we should not try to genetically engineer people is the fact that human population would drop dramatically. Not everybody can be “the best” so only a few kids compared to a few hundred would get born. Add on top of that the fact that since everybody's DNA would be roughly the same (the “perfect child” DNA) one disease that nobody was immune to would wipe everybody out. Today, a particularly strong disease would have at least some people immune to it, since everybody is different. If everybody was the same, this probably wouldn't happen.
Although these are only a few reasons, there are many more. The world should look at the consequences too, not just the advantages. If genetic engineering does occur, the world would be a very different place.
After reading the tree paragraphs at the top of the page, I do not have a specific opinion on the subject. I think it would be an incredible think to prevent child disabilities. This does not change the fact that if you genetically engineer your children, there will no longer be the saying "There is only one you in the world." It is hard to wrap my finger around that concept. I think that we should prevent ourselves from genetically engineer our children because I believe that god created disabled children for a reason, and they are on this earth to make people stronger and improve personalities. Some people can change their whole view on the world because of one down syndrome baby.
ReplyDeleteMorally, genetically engineering humans should not be allowed. We are here to be able to evolve and adapt to new conditions by ourselves. Just because the technology gives us a new advantage, it also promotes a disadvantage against the natural order of things as well. However, if China begins and maintains the use of this genetic engineering to enhance there race, we will be sure to follow. In order to keep up with the rest of the "enhanced" humans, we too will have to begin to enhance ourselves too in the U.S.. Having the idea that we could rid all disease and sickness makes this seem all like a dream. Though it would be increasingly beneficial to have a perfectly clean lifestyle, it would also negatively affect the world around us. Everyone and everything would be a science project; all of us "programmed" for a certain lifestyle. Does this really allow us to evolve if we are all a science experiment to be created in a certain way? How will those people ever evolve further? If we skip the process through natural evolution, we will be at the end of chain. All of us landing on the same level promotes that competition will cease to exist and motivation along with it. Therefore, the use of genetic engineering on humans shouldn't be allowed in China or anywhere for the sake of our diverse world.
ReplyDeleteI can see where some people would think that altering the DNA to create the "perfect child" because there are so many children in the world that suffer from problems that could ultimately be corrected. It could be the end to down syndrome, turners and hunters disease, and many more. I would think hereditary issues would be solved too. But my thinking is where would it stop? It is our differences that make us unique.
ReplyDeleteIf altering our DNA changed us in a way we were all the same, there would be no point in competing in sports and enjoying or expressing our creative passions through music, art, and so many others ways. All this because we would all be equal there would be no winner or loser or best, just equal.
In one of the paragraphs it was talking about China taking the lead on this project and it made me think about how competitive we and China are in education and jobs. If China were to create this "perfect child" DNA altering, then they would be creating more super smart children who would do amazing in school and grow up and get in jobs that require them to be really smart. this is a run on, but what I am trying to say, if China begins this then it will in away force the other nation to end up participating.
If this idea would be passed along, this would be a huge step in history. In a perfect world, it could be beneficial in some ways to be able to select exactly what you want in a child. For example, this could solve the issue of unwanted girl babies born in China being rejected because the parents want a male. This would be awesome if it would help less children turn out as orphans, and could potentially solve many problematic population overflows. However, think about all of the things that would literally alter not just children of the future, but the future because of the children. Imagine there being no naturally off-the-charts outrageously genius people because everybody would have their child be as smart as possible. Not that everybody would be identical, but nobody would be different or unique- intellectually or physically. There might never be anyone ever again with red hair, freckles, or any heart-warming mentally disabled people, just because some trends for “making” humans could be perfection. Being individually unique in our own way is something humans have always been, and always should be, so tampering with nature is extremely fake. Sure, we as a species would be able to accomplish so much more with super-humans, but it would be like a robot, with(chemically) decided traits. People would never say “What do you think she will grow up to be?!”, or “She has your eyes” because they put the child together. An ENORMOUS loss in this process would be heredity. If you were a chemically engineered child, you would never be able to inherit parents intellectual gifts or their distinct athletic ability or their wild eyes(examples). And wouldn't it be nice to have your child be special in their own way- inside AND out? There would also be no ancestry or family trees to relate back to. The possible theory seems fascinating and amazing, however chemically engineering offspring would be too much micromanaging with the “nature” in human nature.
ReplyDeleteI think it is morally incorrect to modify children to supposedly make them better. While it may be better to make it so some children don't have disabilities i personally would not. If we engineer children like we engineer robots life on Earth will greatly change. Athletics will become easy for those whose parents had the money to engineer them. Also diversity itself will change, people children will look exactly the same as the children next door and eventually the children who look similar will have their own engineered baby to look like them and everyone will look similar. While genetically engineering crops to stop world hunger is good and can help stop world hunger we should not engineer children like we do crops.
ReplyDeleteEver since the human race has existed, we have learned to live with our deficiencies. Genetically modifying a human being into the perfect child is inhumane. If a child is genetically modified to be perfect, wouldn't every parent want their child to be as well? This would result in almost a form of cloning, you would be living in a world where you are no different then the people you are among, you are simply not you. The chances of the U.S.A following this trend may be high, as we all know that our competitive fire to overcome that next person ahead of you can get the best of us. Some may be looking for that extra edge. The genetically modified food, we already have it. There are genetically modified ingredients in many foods we eat, and they are often not healthy in any respect. In terms of its worth, there are clearly some advantages to modifying genetics, such as to prevent birth deficiencies, and diseases such as cancer. But I do not believe it is worth the sacrifice. The only reason the human race thrives is the fact that we are all different. Without differences, no new, brilliant ideas would flourish, there would be no "new" trend, and there most certainly wouldn't be any athletics. Athletics are based on competition, each competitor puts forth their body and mind in order to achieve one common goal: victory. Every true athlete knows that with every minute of training, every bead of sweat, you have something to prove, something to show for. If genetics were modified into the perfect child, you would not have anything to show. You could be the next Michael Jordan, but what does it matter if the guy next to you is just like you? If the world were to start genetically modifying children, the world would take a turn for the worst.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way to achieve a perfect status. But things can be always be made better even though in this case we are talking about people. So far throughout history there has only been one way to make kids. So hearing all this talk about making the perfect engineered kid sounds ridiculous. If you look back to the stone age where people didn't have electricity or any of these luxuries that we have today, so could making children through engineering be the new thing and that making kids through sex be something of the stone age. For me I would lean more in the way that I am for genetically engineered kids. If this can be accomplished than many more things can be found out. For example, would these kids be smarter than others? Be more athletic than the average person? This would change the world big time. Yet perfection is something that you can never reach, the view of what will be perfect will change as something becomes more perfect making perfection harder to reach. Nothing can be perfect there is always something that needs to be changed. But again having these genetically engineered kids I think would be good to have and make a huge impact on out way of life for the better.
ReplyDeleteThe debate of genetically engineering or modifying children has been the focus of a lot of attention for a little while now. While it would be nice to be able to prevent your child from having a serious disease, genetic modification is, in my opinion, not a good decision. The concept of tampering with life and death has been around since the time of Frankenstein, and even though we now have the technology to accomplish this, it doesn't mean that it is the right and moral thing to do. If you really think about it, there is a reason that so many diseases have stood the test of time. People have survived long before us without being able to pick out their babies' traits. If this were to become a possibility, I beilieve that many people would use it for ignoble reasons; they would use it to create the "perfect child". The traits that make up all unique; the aspects of ourselvs that we see as "flaws" would be weeded out, and people would all become the ideal version of an adorable little kid. We would all be pretty, athletic, smart, funny, and caring because, let's face it, those are traits we would all want for ourselves and our children. All we have to do is look back in history to know that it isn't possible to be absoultely perfect, and the amount of trial and error to be found in such a groundbreaking phenomenon is a scary possibility. Another way genetic engineering has been introduced into our society is through GMOs. (Genetically modified organisms) Though GMOs seem like a pretty ingenious idea, there have been many arguments that they are not healthy for us at all. Genetically modifying plants could be manipulated in so many ways, it would create a giant debate in and of itself. The fact is, even with things like GMOs, genetic engineering, and genomics, we likely would not be able to erradicate world hunger, or create a "perfect" human race. Genetic engineering is not a magical solution to all the world's problems.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that this could have positive and negative affects. To start with negatives, it may mess up the balance of life. Without this genetic engineering, people are strong in separate fields today when it comes to intelligence. If everyone is perfect at everything, it could make everyone seem the same. Without it, people would be unique. Because we all know what the genetic engineering will want to make...super smart children that are great at athletics. I feel God makes everyone the way they are because he has it planned. There's no need to plan it ourselves, because we're just messing it up. However, this can be positive because you could possibly save deadly diseases or mutations that could occur in the child. This new engineering has some positive and negative affects but seems like an interesting concept.
ReplyDelete-Zach A
Although it would be cool to have the ‘perfect child’, I don't think it is right to genetically engineer a child. If China starts engineering their babies, the rest of the world will most likely join in. Its okay to make the world disability and disease free, but to change who someone is, thats not okay. Society always tells us that we arent good enough, then our parents tell us otherwise. But how will we feel if our parents trade us in for a ‘perfect version’ of us. Changing and enhancing better crops and ending world hunger would help save many lives, but changing a human being is way different than changing the way people eat. If every parent in the world has a genetically enhanced child, then eventually, all the people in the world will end up the same. People not being perfect is what makes everyone different and unique, and changing that would just make the world all full of clones. Everyone will be good at athletics, so no one person can have a unique talent anymore. Everyone will be good at art, sports, fashion, performing, or anything, no one will be different from another. The worlds been spinning round perfectly fine without any ‘perfect person’.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the past years, technology has become more advanced and efficient, and the ideas of mans greatest fantasies are within reach. One of these advancements is genetic engineering, which may soon produce new sources of food, cure diseases, and create a human being. The creation of the "perfect" human being is fascinating, but nonetheless wrong. As seen in the movie Gattaca, those humans who were engineered to be perfect are respected more than those who were naturally conceived, and when they fail to do reach perfection through failure, they become despairing as seen with the character Jerome Morrow. In general, it is possible to create a perfect physical human being, but creating someone mentally perfect is impossible. If we did this, human beings like us who were naturally conceived would be downgraded to low paying jobs and poor living conditions, while those who think they are perfect live as the wish.
ReplyDeleteChina has already begun the process of discovering how to make the perfect child, and if this was to be accomplished, America and the rest of the world would follow. In this day and age, people seek perfection, and when it is not like this, it is destroyed. Many times a doctor may say that a child has some disorder before it is even born, and often that child is aborted. The ideal cure for this is a child that was chosen to be flawless and perfect. As said before, this genetic engineering is wrong, but it would satiate the wants of many parents, creating a utopia where there is no worry for their kids.
There are many fears in this area of research, and one of them is the belief that human beings would look the same. This should not be feared, since if one can genetically create a human, the human would have specifically chosen genes to make the person unique. There is also another fear that others may not know about, and that is development of sports. If people are given special traits, one could be created to have athletic abilities beyond compare. This would create an amazing spectacle to watch, but it would crush the hopes of many. Many who had dreams of joining leagues like the NFL or NBA would never have the chance, since they were not created that way. People like Derrick Coleman, a deaf player from the Seattle Seahawks, would never come out and play on the major fields, hindering the creation of role models.
One good outcome from genetic engineering is the possibility of eliminating diseases of this day and age. The only thing that could combat this is new diseases, which can happen. If this were to happen, a pandemic disease might spread and affect many people. Another good outcome is the creation of better crops, but even here there are negative outcomes. For example, many people are gluten-free do to the change in wheat, and something like this could happen in the future. Both of these things are worth investigating, but caution must be taken.
The idea of genetic engineering is an exciting idea, but many problems are too likely to happen. Men and women who were created by science would be honored and respected, while the average person, like you and me, would be discriminated. Natural conception and birth would be thought of as lowly and ignoble, which defies every human being from the past who is respected, since they were born this way. New diseases may arise, and all of these things prove that genetic engineering is useful, but used in the wrong way it will be morally, ethically, and humanely wrong.
I don't think that engineering the perfect child would be at all morally correct. We are all unique and I think that if we made the "perfect child" we would all be similar. It would completely wipe away the unique people we have today. I also don't believe that the USA would follow if China genetically engineered children. In China, there is a huge demand for male children, while not-so-much in America. I also would not approve of the athletics side of life. Where would all the uniqueness in skills and height go? I think that competition would be extremly high. Overall, I don''t support this at all.
ReplyDeleteGenetic engineering has been an idea speculated for years in science fiction, but now there is a possibility of it becoming real. However, the question that stands is: “Is this morally correct?” I think not. In a world where almost everything is artificial and man-made (for example processed food, technology, building structures, etc.) the list of non-natural things is growing far too fast. There are many issues that will almost certainly come along with genetically engineered humans--there would no longer be any sense of uniquity. Eventually, the most desired traits and characteristics would be sought after such as attractiveness, high intelligence, and high stamina. Most humans would then, overall, be pretty much the same. In addition to this, society would have an immensely difficult time accepting the idea. In fact, it would take years and years for it to become a societal norm. There’s even a high chance that it would be protested against and possibly outlawed--simply because we, as humans, are afraid. It is known that every human is at least slightly xenophobic. After all, sexual reproduction has been around since the beginning of mankind; a change so big would be extremely difficult. Also, even if the option of genetically engineering a baby was available, there would still be a number of babies being born by sexual reproduction. These “natural” babies would be looked down upon by the “perfect” ones, and more discrimination would occur within our own species. In conclusion, while there may be some potential benefits for genetically engineering a baby, there are too many issues that would arise if this were to occur.
ReplyDeleteGenetics should not be used to make perfect babies. Every person on earth is different in their own way and using genetics would ruin that affect. I think that if China promotes the use of genetically made perfect babies, the United States will follow along just because of what our society has changed into. Everyone tries so hard to be perfect and now it can actually happen. I would rather my kid have a disability opposed to having a perfectly genetically made child. In my opinion, this is not the right thing to do and isn't the way of life.
ReplyDeleteI believe that genetics should not be used to make perfect babies. Everyone on Earth is different in their own way and that makes it easier for humans to experience different things. By using genetics it would ruin the uniqueness of Earth. I think that if China starts using genetics to create perfect babies then the U.S would follow because that is how our society works now. People are always trying to be perfect but being imperfect helps you find people who are different than you. By interacting with people of different likes and dislikes it helps open your mind a lot more. Having a world full of perfect genetic people is not a world I want to live in.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that genetically engineering a "perfect" child is morally wrong. Genetically engineering "perfect" children would erase originality and life would become boring because everyone would be the same. All humans would look the same and athletics would become pointless. Everyone would be a super athlete and no one would be able to beat another person in any athletic activity. If this becomes the norm in China I'm afraid to say that the United States will follow suit. However this would be great if we could use this to prevent our future generation from having certain diseases or being disabled. Personally I wouldn’t engineer my child to be “perfect” because I believe that it is morally incorrect and I would rather leave it up to chance. When it comes to plants however I have different views about genetic engineering. World hunger has been a problem for years and if we have the opportunity to end it then we should.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I don't think we should genetically engineer perfect kids because that would be insane and practically no room for error in academics or athletics. Every single child is different in their own way because of their genetics, if everyone wanted their child to be the star athlete with the 4.5 GPA then their would be absolutely no diversity. If you have all of these genius kids who want to become brain surgeons then the demand for surgeons goes down which in turn causes their salaries to go down, so certain things in the economy could also fall. However if their is something seriously wrong with your kid and you want it to be fixed and there is a way to fix it, you as a parent should be able to make the choice to do that or not. So we should be able to use genetical engineering but only for the rate cases not to make the perfect child.
ReplyDeletePersonally, my opinion can go either way on this topic. I say that because if babies are genetically engineered and we do all end up looking the same, it can reduce the American obesity problem in our country that is currently happening. If we all look the same, then the obesity problem will be completely gone in our country. I also disagree because if we all start too look and act the same, no one will be special in their own way. no one will be unique anymore. Everyone will be equally gifted in everything, not like its a bad thing, but to see the same thing everywhere you go, can be pretty boring. and humans are supposed to be all complex and completely different from each other. If we are all the same, then what will be the purpose of going to school, because we will all end up with the same grades anyway? If china starts this process, the U.S. will most likely follow their actions because if China has perfect people and their country starts to benefit right away, the U.S. will want what is best for their country, so they will follow in China's footsteps. However, if China starts this process, they might truly benefit more than the U.S. because they have an over-populating problem, and if everyone will look the same, then people might want to stop having babies. So, mostly I am against the genetically engineering babies. everyone is special in their own way, and I would like for it to stay that way.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in-vitro fertilization is justified but not what it will be eventually used for. Either way nothing can stop it from happening so people will have to adjust or fall behind. Sports will no longer be fair and there will have to be new rules with teams of natural birth and teams of genetic engineered birth. All humans will not end up looking alike because people won't choose the same person to have as a kid. One great pro to having engineered babies is that disease will be eliminated from these new babies. People that have good intentions when engineering babies will make them nice and helpful. But many problems will arise such as biological war and slavery of these new people. Another problem that will arise is there will be a split between the natural born people and the engineered people because their differences will make them almost like a different race. One group will envy “being a real person” and the others will envy perfection. If for some reason everyone became this super person society will be reset to how it is now. This is because once everyone is perfect, no one will be, and a genetically engineering a baby will be the status quo. So the only differences will be extraneous errors. Everything will be changed relative to how it is now. For example lets say that everyone in this new world is really nice compared to how humans are now. People will be more offended by things that now wouldn't offend someone. The only main difference is intellectual advances will go faster than they do now.
ReplyDeleteGenetic engineering is one of the most debated topics currently. Everyone has their own opinion on it. I personally believe that that the pros outweigh the cons and in order to further scientific study we should allow genetic engineering. One example of a pro is that crop yields will increase and less people will go hungry. That many more people will have life because of genetic engineering. Another example of the positive effects of genetic engineering is the fact that many babies won't be born with diseases that may impede or even kill infants. If we are able to genetically engineer babies, miscarriages could be a thing of the past! Parents would never have to worry about losing their innocent baby to an awful disease. Although we would lose many things such as athletics and uniqueness the amount of lives saved would most definitely outweigh the things lost.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion it would be very wrong to get to pick and choose the features that your children have, i feel like that would be ruining a life for your own wants. There is no such thing as a perfect child, or even a perfect human being. It is all based upon opinion. I think that in some cases you should be able to choose what you want for your child. If people were engineered to be athletic and we were all the same then would it even be fun anymore? Would we all have the same interests? The diversity of life is what makes us all who we are not the traits that our parents choose for us. It would be awful to know that your parents chose what you were like. I feel like this would be a selfish thing to do, using a human life as a barbie is completely inappropriate and awful. If genetically engineering your children is the next big thing then i want no part in it.
ReplyDeleteThe opinion which has my support is for genetic engineering. I believe it isn't morally correct or incorrect, it matters on the parent's choice. If it is known a child has a possibility of inheriting a horrible mutation that will affect them, then if should be mostly in favor in a parents view. Yet, I am not disagreeing towards engineering the perfect child. It is almost impossible to create a perfect child, the child is still being created into the person he or she is meant to be after birth. Changing physical characteristics should be discussed by both parents. I would have genetic engineering done on my children if it prevented them from a life of struggle and pain, and it would also prevent their children of such a fate as well. The United States may follow to keep the newer generations healthier, and it would also produce an income of money. I wouldn't doubt if the United States follows China in such an act. Would everyone be the same, possibly, but it's the parent's issue to deal with rather than the country. The child won't lack in personality, simply be moderately the same. Genomics can be used to create better crops and end world hunger, is it worth it. I say yes, the lives of other humans should be taken cared for by other's as well, we have the technology so I don't see why not. Athletics could be a variation; it matters how the parent raises the child. Overall the world would be different, and possibly over populated, but it is meant to benefit the human race.
ReplyDeleteRosemary,
DeleteYour explanation on how genetic engineering can actually benefit us because it can save our children from pain makes a lot of sense. This definitely would be a plus to genetic engineering, however the risk of the other factors of genetic engineering, such as everyone being the same, still lingers. Do you think it could end up having certain amounts altering genes banned? For example you can only replace or modify genes that would be overall harmful to the child, that way they can be unique and healthy.
The issue of genetic engineering has been a controversial idea for many years, and like all other controversial topic, it has it's pros and cons to it. While genetic engineering can prevent diseases and illnesses, it can also strip people of their identities. The identity of a person is not just based on what they have done in life, but also who they are, where they came from and sometimes even what they look like. If all humans were the same, we wouldn't be able to make our own identities because they would be the same as everyone else around us. Suddenly the things we take pride in being able to do; the things that others may not be able to do (such as playing an instrument) would become a very ordinary feat in the eyes of others because everyone else can do it too. People would at some point have enough of trying to make an identity for themselves because there wouldn't be any point to it anymore, because the only difference that may remain is the difference names. This would lead to decline of today's society because we are where we are because of all the hard work and effort put in by many different kinds of people. With genetic engineering, it remains a possibility that it could strip mankind of its will to change and make the future a brighter place. Going back to diseases, it is possible to rid children of diseases, causing many children to be able to lead normal lives. But at what cost? If it is possible to genetically engineer people to be the same, isn't it possible for there to be a way to treat children with devastating diseases with genetic engineering as well, without making them genetically like everyone else. If we have come far enough to genetically create the "perfect baby", I'm sure that there is a way, or there soon will be one, to cure these devastating diseases as well using genetic engineering.
ReplyDeleteIf China does use genetic engineering, then the U.S. and many other countries will also follow suit because today's world is all about competition. Every country wants to emerge as the most powerful. If one country does something to make themselves better than others, the other countries will do the same to level out the playing field. Genetic engineering would disturb the already fragile semblance of peace between countries, and is not worth delving into yet.
Nobody is perfect right? If scientist started genetically engineering I don't think they would be improving any quality of life. In my opinion it is good that everyone is different in their very own way. I think that if China went through with doing this that the United States would follow because some of the citizens of the United States would want a perfect child, and would also want the "new". I would want my child to be its own, however he/she turns out. In the future I do want a healthy baby but I would not do anything to prevent it from being the way it is, such as having a disease or not. I do not think anything would be worth everyone being perfect, the world would be too boring. If parents can genetically engineer their child, some children might turn out to look the same, maybe a lot of children could. If every parent wants their son to be a star football player, the sport may not have a point anymore. Or if certain parents want their daughter to be a star math student. What would be the point of going to school? All in all, I do not think that genetically engineering children in the next twenty- forty years would be a good idea, or very successful in the future.
ReplyDeletePlants and animals have been genetically modified for awhile and so far the result hasn't been great. Sure, the plants may be bigger and the animals may be raised quicker but new problems are constantly arising and the chemicals have been found to be damaging to people. So if we can't modify plants without it being harmful to us, how can we modify our own DNA? However there is a way of picking the "perfect child" even now. You can pick out a sperm donor and find all the qualities you want. But say we could get rid of diseases and disabilities and make our children "perfect" where would we stop? Our idea of perfect now, won't be the same as our idea of perfect in 50 years. The world isn't meant to have perfect people; it's meant to have people with flaws and that's what makes us human.
ReplyDeleteEveryday people think they have to be perfect, but its our differences that make us each perfect. If we were to genetically engineer children to be quote on quote "perfect", this would take away the individuality we all possess. I do not think this is a morally right thing. This "perfection" could cause serious downsides, the first and most important being it might not always work. There is constantly the threat of error, whatever that error might be I'm not sure, but I do know that this idea of changing DNA came straight out of an intense Science Fiction book and should stay there.
ReplyDeleteIf China starts promoting this Sci-Fi idea, I'm sure the United States will follow suit. Its a constant race to be the most powerful, and right now China is beating us. Perhaps if we do the same things they do, and add in our own ideas we could beat China to the top. The errors will not matter as long as we are winning.
Of course I would take away all disease and disabilities if I could. However, I do not think changing the wonderful DNA that has not been anything but good to the human race for millions of years, is the correct way to fix these problems.
If we could some how succeed in ending world hunger and growing better crops, that would be fantastic, but at what cost? Personally I think all the lives, time, and money put forward to make this a reality would not be worth it. If there becomes a surplus of food and every person eats their fill, we would be the people from WALL-E, round and unfit.
Say perhaps this Science Fiction idea became a reality, the question is would we all start to look a-like? To answer this I would say no, because when one genetically perfect child has kid with another genetically perfect child and so on and so forth, and they only breed with each other, until the last of the genetically imperfect die, then every person would have the same genes, right? Well, no. In class you told us that DNA is different in every person, and that even twins have different DNA and they both have the same parents. Also when one base is changed this could result to be in a different protein.
Like I said before, this could make us round and unfit, because without the threat of becoming sick and more food people would not exercise as much, and by not exercising they would become weaker, and by becoming weaker, you could not exercise.
All in all I think engineering genetically "perfect" genes would not work, or if it did work, have major downsides.
One of our most common phrases in this world is "nobody is perfect" which should apply to this as well. The way the world works is everyone brings unique ideas to better our world from their individual thoughts and experiences, it's up to being unique to help the world in a way no one else could think of, that's how our world works. No one is the same so nobody can bring the same things into this world. This is why making the 'perfect child' is actually making the world a perfect disaster. If everyone is modeled to be extremely similar what will happen to unique ideas? Everyone born will have the same mind set. Nothing new will be created causing creativity and inspiration to crumble. So when everybody is perfect it's really just saying everyone is the same, which is frowned upon. New inventions and scientific discoveries will be gone. So in reality the best genes are new genes. Recycling isn't always the right thing to do to save the world. We always need new information and outlooks to insure we don't get stuck in our old ideas. This is where being different helps you.
ReplyDeleteGenetic testing seems like it will soon be an insanely controversial. Like with Sochi just starting, think about how it will effect the Olympics. If genetic testing started to be able to make ''Perfect' children, then it wouldn't be a competition about talent, it would all be about who has the best genetic testing. But imagine the uproar that would occur at the introduction of this. People resent science and technology so it doesn't take over their lives, which is basically what this would be doing. Taking away he right to have your own child seems like we wouldn't have enough control over our life's, which would scare people and cause them to revolt.
ReplyDeleteLife is defined by pain, for without pain, we would not know happiness. We need this pain to grow and overcome. A world of perfection simply doesn't exist. To genetically engineer humans is to practically erase the human race and what it stands for. Yes, it would be marvelous to eliminate disabilities and life-threatening diseases. That's what doctors and scientists are trying to figure out now. It's a great thing! However, genetically engineering a child to be perfect is not such a bright idea. It is possible for mothers to get medications and such to help prevent and treat medical issues with their babies and that is not to be gotten rid of, but rather, improved. Just look at the life-expectancy of someone living in the 1800s compared to someone who lived in modern time. Medical treatments are a great thing to improve health. But again, back to the genetically engineering, that controls traits of the aesthetic kind as well. Changing that is awful! It's an insult to the process of natural creation! To control exactly what a kid is going to look like is going to brainwash them into trying to be THE best, not THEIR best
ReplyDelete. The standards set in society today are already far too high. Just look at all of the teens who are anxious and/or depressed. This would merely place more pressure on the desire to be perfect and we can't handle any more of that; it's simply not good. Genetically engineering children is absolutely an awful idea. Instead, it's better to focus on how to improve the health of those. Life is what it is, and that is something to just be accepted.
I do think that it would ok if people wanted to genetically engineer their children. In my moms family we have a history of fighting cancers. And in my dads family we have history of heart disease and diabetes. So if I was given the ability to make my child not have to worry about cancer,heart disease and diabetes I would totally do it. But the problem is that if we do make it legal, the people who don't want to genetically engineer their child will practically be forced into doing it so they don't get left behind. So all around I don't think it should be legal because otherwise we are just sort of leaving the people who don't want to do it behind. Also it would take away some of the natural individuality that people have. All in all though no one wants to be left behind but no one wants to wait for those who don't want to change. But using genetic engineering for ending hunger by engineering the crops, we should do that. That will be universally liked.
ReplyDeleteI don't beleive that this is completely moraly correct, however it is a very fascinating topic and i would love to learn more about it. I mean I understand that we shouldn't mess with nature, but the very fact that we are able to do stuff like that really blows me away. Another thing, when they refer to this "perfect child" what do they mean. Not only that but some of the most successful people are those with some sort of anomaly (EX:einstein, Tesla, etc.).
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion it is not morally correct to genetically engineer our children. If every child was genetically engineered they would all be the same. Every kid would have a perfect GPA. Every kid would be a brain surgeon and there would be nobody to fill the other jobs that we need people to do. Also, it would destroy sports. If every child were really great at sports then there would be no competition and then what would be the point of sports. Every child would have a perfect GPA and a star athlete they could all get in to Harvard and would eliminate all diversity in our society. I think genetic engineering is a bad idea.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the "perfect" child is a tempting idea, the matter of the fact is we do to have the right to play God with another person's life. Whether it be changing their hair colour or eliminating a prominent chin; we as humans shouldn't be controlling our children's genetic outcome except through who we reproduce with. Be that as it may, there are still instances when the hereditary makeup may lead to diseases. This poses an interesting situation because while they are still "playing God", the scientists and doctors may be saving a life.
ReplyDeleteAfter all this is said, it does seem that however immoral certain aspects are, it seems like an option that the U.S. would take if China did first.
Using gene mutation on plants does seem to yield a far less immoral outcome, considering plants were given to us to eat and provide for us.
It would seem very worth it to either make these crops more fruitful, plentiful, cheap to produce, or in any other way better for the public.
I do not think that all humans would end up looking alike up until a single person began to declare what is physical perfection, because then everything would be based off of their lone opinion.
Athletics would likely suffer from this genetic altering because it would level the playing field and probably change history in general.
Humans have always been flawed, whether it’s physically visible or not. However, with the new technology this can be stopped. I do not agree with genetically changing your child into the “perfect” person. Everyone’s definition of perfect is different and by forcing certain traits and characteristic about your child is taking away part of who they will become which is ultimately not the parent’s job. Not to mention for those who cannot afford to do genetically engineer their children, it causes a void between those who have been made “perfect” and those who haven’t making a huge rift in our society. If the U.S. does choose to follow in China’s footsteps this will likely cause some problems. Competitive and with all the right resources the extent that science may take may lead to something beyond just having green eyes instead of brown. Just like everything else, there may be an exception to this rule. Some parents have the misfortune to find out that their child may have a certain disease that could stop them from living their life fully. While still not the best solution, if it was in their sites to help their child in that way then I could see where they would be coming from. Food on the other hands causing for a different level of questioning. Already there is enough food in the world for everyone to eat healthily, yet this is not what is happening and will not last forever. By engineering food it may be able to help and feed many people but at what cost? If the expenses are worth the outcome, lets make some blueberry peaches, however if they don’t then what’s the point.
ReplyDeleteA perfect world is so over rated. It could never happen plus, a perfect world? That's just pain boring! Everyone's is filled with mystery and wonder and you are the one that makes sure those happen, could you possibly think of a world where you go through the same thing every day and you look like everyone else? Love. Love would be plain useless and no body would have a reason for it if we all looked and thought the same way. Modifying our foods would honestly be pointless too. The problem is that there are too many people on this planet to keep up with the amount of food we have. The only thing i could see effecting the food income in any form would be a decrease in population and i don't see either of these happening soon and modified foods are just not gonna make people happy.
ReplyDeleteIts a universally excepted truth that humans are imperfect. And in some cases, it would make sense to want to alter that, but, aren't our imperfections what make us human? Every person on this planet is unique, and trying to create a uniform, "perfect" population is no better than throwing away what makes human beings special. Now, with that being said, the applications of Geneology other than programming the perfect child, are very useful. For example, using science to right a disorder in your child, is an incredibly good tool for people to have. Using this science, for the first time it is now possible to allow someone who at one point may have been forced to live life with a handicap, the freedom to live as the average human being would. And going beyond just humans, Genology could allow us to create better, more sturdy crops, that could allow the possibility for a more efficient farm, capable of supplying food for our worlds growing demands. All of this evidence and much more points to the fact that Genology is, overall, a blessing, however, it is important that we set limits.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s just plain wrong to use your child as a test subject. I mean, you should be happy with the child you get, that's selfish to raise your baby in a laboratory just so you can have the child of your dreams. What if something goes wrong, and the baby dies? I mean, things can go wrong in pregnancy too, but wouldn't raising a baby in the laboratory be more dangerous? Also, all people have faults, you can’t just try to correct those faults so you’ll be happy. What if your child isn't happy looking the way he/she does and they blame you? Don’t you want a child that’s your and looks like you? If I were having a child, I would want them to look like me and be a part of me. I would be proud that i got through pregnancy and delivered my baby. How can you be proud of a baby you didn't make, one that was raised in a lab? If China starts taking this route, I bet the other countries will be soon to follow, I mean, who’s to stop everyone else from creating their dream child. I would want to prevent my child from having diseases, that would be great, but to have them raised in a lab is not okay. Not all humans will look alike if people choose to do this, only some will.A lot more people will be better at athletics if people chooses this method, because most people want an athletic child, and that can be programmed. Also, I think it is worth it to end world hunger by using genomics to create better crops. Although I think it’s wrong, I can understand where people are coming from. Say you and your spouse are brown haired, and so is your family on both sides, and you desperately want a little girl with blond hair. We have the technology to do it, and I can see that someone would do that to have the child of their dreams. Heck, I might even consider it to have the perfect child so they don’t have the problems I do. But, it is morally wrong, and it would bug me for the rest of my life. So I wouldn't do it. Why would you?
ReplyDeleteWe as human beings where born from our parents. We were born the way we are today. Some people might not be born “perfect”, but no one has the right to say that. You were born the way you are for a reason, and that reason isn’t to be genetically tampered with. There are some diseases and viruses like cancer that can kill people, and I think that using genetics to help with that is ok I want genetic engineering to do the right things for the right reasons. Otherwise we could turn into Hitler and some of the horrific genetic experiments he performed during the holocaust. I want it to be used to help people with their problems, not to make them “better.”
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