Designer Babies
Once a science-fiction concept and now a reality, a designer baby is defined as a baby that has been genetically engineered in order to include or remove certain genes associated with a certain disease or phenotype. (Ly, 2011) This process can be completed in two different ways. The more common process involves pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which according to Johns Hopkins University, is reproductive technology that is made up of “a screening test that can be performed on embryos created via in vitro fertilization (IVF) to genetically analyze the embryos prior to transfer.” Citation The second and less common method is genome editing which involves actually modifying the embryos’ DNA sequences. This was first done by Chinese researcher He Jiankui in 2018 on a pair of twins in order to protect them against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). (Greely, 2019)
Contents
How They Work
The first process, PGD, requires in vitro fertilization in order to acquire the embryos that will be used for the procedure. Once the eggs have been retrieved and fertilized, medical professionals perform a procedure known as assisted hatching. This is done in order to obtain cells which will be biopsied and analysed in order to scan for specific genetic traits, such as mutated cells. Citation
As noted before, the second process, genomic editing, requires editing the embryos’ DNA sequences with cutting and deletion. This method been used by researchers since the 1970’s to edit the genomes of different organisms, such as yeast and bacteria, in order to learn more about genomic sequencing and how it affects humans. While the first genome editing technologies were created in the late 20th century, the most recent and rapidly developing genome editing tool used to edit humans is known as CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats). Citation Invented in 2009 by Dr. Jennifer Doudna and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, this tool is much more time and cost-efficient as well as more accurate than any previous method. It has been used to develop two different gene therapies: germline therapy and somatic therapy. Citation https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/policy-issues/what-is-Genome-Editing Germline therapy is. On the other hand, somatic therapy.
Uses
There are several known uses for utilizing PGD and genome editing. It is primarily used to prevent genetic diseases by identifying abnormal or known disease-related chromosomes and then selecting against them. While all couples may consider the procedure, couples who tend to use it in order to achieve pregnancy and avoid a genetic disease include parents who carry an heritable disease or who have had difficulties getting pregnant in the past. For example, women over 38 years old and men with sperm abnormalities have a higher probability of producing embryos with chromosomal mutations. Citation Another known use for the procedure is to select embryos of a specific sex. This is most commonly done by couples when an heritable disease is strongly associated with one sex over another, such as the X-linked disorder haemophilia. Some couples may also choose the sex of their child due to preference although this has become a subject of controversy for the greater medical community. Citation
Famous Cases
Ethical Considerations
Lack of Embryo Permission
One concern about genetically modified or selected babies is that the embryo is unable to give permission as to whether or not . On the other hand, there are bioethicists believe that prenatal autonomy should grant parents the right to decide the fate of their children, including their gender or selected traits.
Financial Discrimination
Another concern is that the process of PGD or genome editing is very expensive and as a result, it may increase the wealth gap if only a small percentage of the population can afford it. This could lead to greater health disparities if only the extremely wealthy are able to select against genetic disorders. It could also lead to different types of discrimination if only those who can afford to use these procedures can select the traditionally most desirable traits for their future children.
Aesthetic Use
While there are some who support PGD and genome editing for preventing genetic disorder, they do not su
Generational Impact
One final controversial aspect of these selective genetic procedures is that changes can be inherited by generations to come rather than just the immediate individual affected. Similar to the way in which the affected individuals cannot give permission to undergo the procedure given that they are simply embryos at the time, future generations also cannot give permission to be impacted by these changes since they have not even been conceived yet. For this reason, a multitude of countries and organizations do not support germline editing and have regulations in place against it. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has not approved funding for this research.
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