Long before Watson and Crick famously uncovered the structure of DNA in 1953, people envisioned with both horror and hope a day when babies could be custom designed (Duran, 2015). In Britain, during the month of December 2008, the first designer baby was born (Duran, 2015). What is a designer baby you may ask? It is defined as a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering combined with in vitro fertilization to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics (Duran, 2015). Designer babies are created through the intriguing process of gene therapy. Gene therapy is the insertion of genes into a person's cells (Duran, 2015). If the therapy is successful then the inserted genes become part of the cell's genome, and give the cell a new or different characteristic. That's right, IF therapy is done successful. There are numerous ways to create a problem while designing a baby. Also, there are religious, ethical, and economic concerns throughout the whole process of designing. Designer babies could make a huge difference in the world, but there are too many risk factors and problems with it at this point in time.
Designer Babies.
Do you want your child to be a boy or girl? Have blue eyes or brown eyes? Have blonde hair or brown hair? Be muscular or skinny? Yes, it is possible to choose exactly what you want your child to look like and what qualities they possess. This whole idea of picking your child's genetic make up is called designer babies. Designer babies are a very bizarre concept to many people in the world today. They are becoming more and more popular as time goes on. This is a very controversial idea that people are on extremes about. People either love the idea of it, or they are totally against it. There are multiple articles and reasons as to why not to design your own baby. The cost, ethical concerns, religious beliefs, and strong possibility of error are just a few reasons as the why not to have a designer baby.