How “Designer Babies” Goes Along with My Moral Codes By: Tanzim Ahmed

There are about six billion human beings on this Earth but surprisingly, we are all different. There is not a single person living on this earth that is the same as another person and that is what makes all of us special. Unfortunately, scientists say that, in the near future, parents can choose what traits their child can possess. This totally goes against my moral codes. I don’t believe we should ever change the genetic make-up of a person. A child should have the traits that it was meant to have, not what another person wants it to have.

First and foremost, the genes of a fetus should never be altered. Many parents might want their children to be more unique which is fine, but this should not be achieved by changing their genes. In the article “Designer Babies” by Patricia Smith, Josephine Johnston says, “‘it’s hard to know how you would resist the temptation to do those things because they are the things that promise to give your child the edge in a competitive world’”.  Her statement about temptation is true but the rest isn’t. Sure this genetic alteration would change give your child an edge in this competitive world, but for how long? Other parents would do the same for their children as well and in just a few years, your child’s edge would be gone.

A moral code that I live by is to not change things that were meant to be. Your child was made to have certain things, don’t take or add anything extra. When you do this, it doesn’t make your baby special anymore. Even though changing the genes of a fetus for extra traits is against my moral codes, changing genes to prevent genetic defects is a whole different story. If replacing unhealthy genes with healthy ones is required to create a healthy child, then I would be willing to bend my moral codes a little bit. Since twelve million Americans suffer from genetic defects such as hemophilia, altering their genes for a healthy America wouldn’t be too bad.

All in all, changing genes for a “perfect” child is against my moral codes. I believe that things that were meant to be shouldn’t be tampered with unless they can help save lives. When parents decide to genetically alter their fetus, their child becomes not a blessing, but a subject for scientists.