Designer Babies: The Gen Z Baby Boomers

“I want two blonde kids with blue eyes, named Samantha and Mckenna. ” I told my friend Alison as we talked about our futures and played with our American Girl Dolls in my playroom. At the time, six-year-old Gracie did not understand that two blonde haired kids with blue eyes were not in her future. As someone who is now 16 and has taken biology and life science, the concept of genetics isn’t so foreign. Because I’m Asian, I am not a carrier of blonde hair or blue eyed traits, so the chances of me having kids with European features is 0%. But with modern technology, my dreams of having a blonde child could come true. Recently, the concept of; designer babies is advancing rapidly and has been introduced to the medical field and. As someone who grew up with family members in the medical field and wants to do specialized work with NICU babies, designer babies are something we should all fear. And while six-year-old Gracie probably thinks that designer babies are a dream come true, 16 year old me thinks that designer babies could ruin all reproductive evolution.

In 1978, In-vitro Fertilization was first developed, introducing a new form of artificial conception. In recent years, designer babies have joined IVF on the spectrum of reproductive technology. A designer baby refers to a child who develops from an embryo or sperm or egg that has been genetically altered to remove unfavored traits. Most of these genetic alterations remove unfavored genes like genes for medical conditions including Trisomy 21, Alzheimers, Huntington’s disease, and many other genetic condition while most of these genetic alterations remove unfavored physical traits such as a certain hair color or eye color, and in most cases, the sex of the baby can be chosen when creating a designer baby. As crazy as it is, parents can even choose how intelligent their child is or give them superperb singing ablities. There is no end to what traits can be genetically altered. While all of these characteristics seem favorable, a lot of the genetic alterations can become consequential. Eliminating fatal genetic conditions seems so positive, but doing so can also impose a lot of risks that are becoming a terrifying reality, especially in the NICU.

The Neonatal ICU typically houses babies who had birth defects or complications, babies with life threatening medical conditions, and babies who were born prematurely. In terms of infant mortality rates and life quality, designer babies are an extraordinary solution to these issues. But in terms of parental psychology, designer babies are a medical mistake. The number of babies in the NICU is going to increase, due to the fact that designer babies are so genetically altered that it could cause more damage to the child's quality of life. And while the infant mortality rate may decrease, it all boils down to the parents’ idea of perfection and the quality of the child’s life. I’m sure most parents love their child for who they are, some do not. The idea of a perfect baby is brought into the picture, and boom, that’s how designer babies are formed. Obviously, very few designer babies have ever been developed, so studying the full effects of genetic modification on humans is difficult. But the question of why are we genetically modifying unborn embryos whose parents want them to be ‘perfect’? Instead of using genetically modified embryos to eliminate the ‘bad’ genetics, people are now using designer babies to create their ‘perfect’ child. Medical professionals are now looking into ethical cases of designer babies, and have posed the question: “Are designer babies revolutionary for the medical field, or are they medically unethical experiments?

This question has been left unanswered, and it will probably stay unanswered, because it is an opinion based question. To me, designer babies have their pros and cons, but are unethical in terms of genetic altering technology and artificial conception. But of course, not everyone is going to agree. So, I leave you with the same question. Are designer babies made for perfection a medically unethical mistake?