Frankenbabies!!!!!!!

Have you ever thought about being able to customize your own offspring? What about specifically deciding the color of their eyes or hair? Well that is a possibility that could happen at some point in the future and starts with the genetic modification of human embryos. Kathy Niakan is one such scientist who is asking the government of England’s fertility regulator for a license to conduct genome editing on embryos. By doing very basic research on the embryos, her team hopes to find why some women lose their baby early on in the cycle of pregnancy. She claims, “The knowledge we acquire will be very important for understanding how a healthy human embryo develops, and this will inform our understanding of the causes of miscarriage. It is not a slippery slope [towards designer babies] because the UK has very tight regulation in this area,” (Sample, Guardian 7).  Well as of now, designer babies are not going to happen anytime soon. There are still far too many tests that need to be done in order to discover how to target specific places in the genetic code. As can be seen, genetic engineering is definitely advancing as the future progresses. Repairing the genetic code seems to be one of the major experiments that is being undertaken by Niakan who is one of the major scientists in this field of study. However, along with the advocates, are the naysayers who believe that this technology could go too far which leads to the question: Is genetically modifying human embryos unethical or could it truly redefine and aid the human race?
            Years ago, the concept of thinking that humans could define what their offspring would look like was far from people’s minds. Now, scientists are able to redefine the future of the human race.  Earlier this year there was a lot of controversy over the concept of three parent babies. Scientists have discovered a way to replace the faulty mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) in a woman with the healthier DNA from a second woman in order for the child to inherit both of the women’s DNA. Then, the father would fertilize the egg (Sample, 2). As of now, scientists do not completely understand the mitochondria which has raised ethical concerns in other scientists. They believe that more research should be conducted on the mitochondria before conducting what could be a dangerous procedure. It could have unforeseen effects on the embryos and people do not like that the baby would have three parents (Knapton, 4). Critics of this method also believe that this process could eventually lead to the dreaded “designer babies.” Dr. David King, the director of the Human Genetics Alert stated that "The techniques are unethical according to basic medical ethics, since their only advantage over standard and safe egg donation is that the mother is genetically related to her child. This cannot justify the unknown risks to the child or the social consequences of allowing human genome modification" (Knapton, 9). Even with this statement, a majority of scientists believe the process should continue since it could lessen the harmful effects that mitochondrial disease has on a family.

Stephanie Saulter, a prominent author who wrote a series of books titled Evolution, offered her insight into the matter. She believes that the counterargument against the mDNA procedure has some merits, but inevitably not enough to stop the procedure. She believes that it is the “next logical step” that could save the lives of thousands from this devastating disease that is passed down genetically (Saulter, 16). Why should people object to a procedure that has the potential to save countless children from early death? Is it because of that word? Potential? Or is it because people are afraid of how far the technology will go? Are these fears worth the prohibition of a procedure that could save lives? Before anything can happen, long term research would need to occur as well as the money to conduct these procedures. As for being able to choose the eye and hair color of a child, it would be extremely expensive to invest time and money into the use of this technology (Saulter, 17).

Along with this comes the topic of diversity. Diversity is a trait that humans have begun to treasure and with ‘designer babies,’ people fear a loss of diversity. Christian Wolfe, who attended Washington & Jefferson University, states “Genetic diversity has a direct relation to the fitness and survivability of various species and populations; as genetic diversity decreases within a population, so does the fitness and survivability of that population” (Wolfe, 2). If designer babies were able to be engineered, then a detrimental effect could happen in the future for the human race. Humans have constantly had to be able to adapt to the environment that they are in, and with genetic engineering, diversity could be lacking in humans. This could completely hinder or even stop the evolutionary process (Shimbo, 3). However, some believe that it is an odd fear since reproductive medicine nowadays is allowing more parents to have children who are their genetic descendants. This would allow for diversity to continue as people wouldn’t be customizing their offspring. (Saulter, 18).

The Introductory Paragraphs

           Two parent babies are a thing of the past. That’s right folks, the world is heading towards a new age. With the development of genetic engineering, three parent babies are now the future. Scientists have discovered a way to replace the faulty mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) in a woman with the healthier DNA from a second woman in order for the child to inherit both of the women’s DNA. Then, the father would of course fertilize the egg (Sample, 2). Imagine that ladies. You find out that your mDNA is faulty and could lead to genetic diseases when your baby is born. So you decide to phone up your best friend and ask her to get her mDNA checked out and discover that hers is in perfect condition. She then donates a little amount of DNA from herself which replaces your faulty one and BAM! There you have it. The father would fertilize the egg and that baby would have three different parents. Now this might sound crazy but, it is truly something that is being looked at in Britain right now. Scientists have asked the government to change the law that is banning genetically modified embryos from being implanted into females. It has been approved by both the House of Commons and House of Lords which would make Britain the first place to allow this procedure to take place. This will allow for diseases to be stopped with the implementation of this new development. Genetic engineering is developing at a breakneck pace, but there are many people who oppose this development and many who seek it to continue on the path that has been set.  

             

            Genetic engineering has become a highly controversial topic as of late and one question must definitely be asked: Is genetically modifying human embryos unethical or could it truly redefine and aid the human race? Scientists all around the globe have begun asking for licenses to conduct procedures on human embryos. China has developed a procedure called CRISPR which has redefined how scientists go about genetically engineering embryos. However, there are many scientists who believe that a line is being crossed when it comes to genetically modifying these embryos. Ian Sample quoted a UK geneticist who said “You can argue that it could be hugely beneficial to correct genetic diseases, but on the other hand we don’t know it’s safe and it’s a slippery slope. How long will it be before people try to alter eye and hair colour, and height and intelligence?” (Sample, 17). As can be seen, people fear for the day where humans will be able to choose specific characteristics for their children. Humans today live in a very diverse world. Could this fear come from people fearing the fact that diversity could be loss? This is definitely a possibility if the technology goes that far which would form what people have called “designer babies.” Countries have taken action against research having to do with editing the genetic code in embryos. Along with these fears are the people and scientists who are strong advocates for genetic engineering. The problem is finding out whether the procedure is ethically sound or harmful to the human race.

           
            Have you ever thought about being able to customize your own offspring? What about specifically deciding the color of their eyes or hair? Well that is a possibility that could happen at some point in the future and starts with the genetic modification of human embryos. Kathy Niakan is one such scientist who is asking the government of England’s fertility regulator for a license to conduct genome editing on embryos. By doing very basic research on the embryos, her team hopes to find why some women lose their baby early on in the cycle of pregnancy. She claims, “The knowledge we acquire will be very important for understanding how a healthy human embryo develops, and this will inform our understanding of the causes of miscarriage. It is not a slippery slope [towards designer babies] because the UK has very tight regulation in this area,” (Sample, Guardian 7).  Well as of now, designer babies are not going to happen anytime soon. There are still far too many tests that need to be done in order to discover how to target specific places in the genetic code. As can be seen, genetic engineering is definitely advancing as the future progresses. Repairing the genetic code seems to be one of the major experiments that is being undertaken by Niakan who is one of the major scientists in this field of study. However, along with the advocates, are the naysayers who believe that this technology could go too far which leads to this question: Is genetically modifying human embryos unethical or could it truly redefine and aid the human race?

Dinner Table for Genetically Engineering Embryos

            The goal of my research paper is to find out whether it is ethical or not to genetically engineer the offspring of humans. My dinner table will consist of a wide variety of experts who either support or disagree with this topic. Since it is such a controversial topic, I will need to show all of the views that people have on this topic since this paper is going to be predominantly unbiased. However, I will be sure to include my opinion towards the end of my paper.
            Many of my experts will be scientists dedicated to the genetic field of study. They will help filter the hardships and misconceptions that might be on peoples’ minds. Hopefully, I will find articles that are written by scientists that share their own personal opinions about the subject. For example, Stephanie Saulter wrote a very thought-provoking article about the ethics of genetically modifying embryos. She brings up the point that asking the simple question of “What is ethical?” undermines the actual complexity of the topic in and of itself (Saulter, Op-Ed). It is obvious that she has done a lot of research and has even wrote a series of books that have to do with evolution. Another expert would be the US National Institute of Health since they had refused to fund any technology that was related to altering the genetic code in embryos. Since this a major organization in the medical field, I will definitely take advantage of the opinions that they will offer which will hopefully assist me in answering my question.

            Besides the opinions that will be gained from these experts, I would also like to research what the common people feel about the topic. The general population is aware of this occurring and I am sure there are many mixed reactions that they all have. I will look to news articles that might have done inquiries towards the population. Besides these opinions, I will discover specific statistics that have been researched by scientists. Although this is a generally new development, there is still evidence that has to do with the human genetic code. All of these experts should allow me to craft a well written research article.