DESIGNER BABIES One of the predicted central uses of genetic engineering is to customize our babies according to our will.

One method, known as Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), gives prospective parents the ability to screen and select for specific genetic traits in their children. Due to technical limitations on the number of tests that could be performed on an embryo and the complexity of the relationship between single genes and physical characteristics, the number of traits that could be tested is severely limited. Nevertheless, several applications of this technology have been especially effective in screening for severe medical conditions. One can detect potential genetic predispositions for Down syndrome and Huntingtons disease by analyzing cells containing the embryos genetic information, even before pregnancy begins. This prevents women from having to decide whether to abort an abnormal fetus, and eliminates the deep grief and economic difficulties that many families are forced to cope with. In the future, the new technologies may offer parents the possibility to enhance their children. As more and

more genes are discovered to be associated with specific functions, parents could potentially examine the genetic makeup of their fetuses, and modify them by inducing changes in their embryonic stem cells. This could enhance a childs mental and physical abilities, from being taller to having the potential to master music and chess. Most parents simply want their children to be the best they could be. With new genetics, their dreams may finally be realized. Lee Silver, a professor of molecular biology and public affairs at Princeton called this no different than giving your child advantages like piano lessons or private school.9From a childs point of view, the genetic enhancements imposed upon him or her by parents may pose a threat to freedom of action. Whether the child succeeds in life is not wholly determined by his or her own efforts, but rather from parental decisions made prior to birth. The child might no longer accept responsibility for the things they do. As a parent, to acknowledge the unique qualities and the giftedness of life is to accept their children as they are. For many, the sense of achievement of being parents lies in the success of their kids, through the combined effort of a childs own endeavors and the transforming love of the parent. However, with life-enhancing procedures, opponents speculate that parents may not look upon their children as something they are obligated to nurture and care for, but as mere consumer objects with a particular expect. A genetically engineered mouse runs on a treadmill at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, CA. Figure 4. Marathon Mice running on treadmill. A mouse runs on a treadmill at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California, after undergoing gene manipulation to boost its endurance and prevent weight gain. 30 Volume 12, Spring 2005 MURJ Yin Rentation made

even before the child is born. Leon Kass, a bioethics professor at the University of Chicago and Chairman of the Presidents Council on Bioethics, commented that To really produce the optimum baby, youd have to turn procreation into manufacturing, which would degrade parenthood. There are many social ramifications of manipulating childs genetic makeup. According to Kass, Its naive to think that you can go in there with the traits that deal with higher human powerswithout [causing] real changes in other areas. The ripple effects of adding a new gene are unknown. What would our society become if the next generation can live up to 120 years? There would be a population crisis, the impacts of which would be felt everywhere, but especially severely in developing countries where food and housing are scarce. As science outpaces social development, the complications of elderly care also arise. Improvements in medical technologies demand higher costs, and as people live longer, health care costs would skyrocket. A New Society The ultimate consequence, as proponents of gene therapy predict, is the narrowing of divisions currently in place in our society: from social, to ethical, to economical. Many social divides exist simply because some of us are genetically better endowed than others, and are doing jobs with better compensation. Some children are born with better athletic prowess, quicker mathematical minds, and more acute visual senses than others. As a result, those lacking the genes will be at a disadvantage. One reason for the division between professional athletes and everyone else is their natural talents in sports: an average adult who trains and works harder than Michael Jordan will not receive greater acclaim or a larger contract. With the new technology, however, the boundaries between different classesbe they social, economical, or personal will blur as time progresses. Proponents of genetic engineering argue that the technologies may be expensive initially, but just like all other important technologies such as telephones and computers, they will not be out of reach for long. As the techniques become widely available, enhanced genes will become

more ubiquitous through new therapy and traditional means, and genetic gaps will close as a result. But critics adopt the opposite view: genetic engineering, they say, would not only deepen existing class divisions, but also create new ones. Unlike other ubiquitous technologies such as refrigerators and televisions, the benefits of gene therapy will be out of reach for most. Many people will refuse to accept gene therapy even if the enhancements are made free, due to religious and other personal reasons. Others caution that it may take longer than usual before the technology becomes widely available, due to high cost and lack of efficacy. Therefore, the economic gap between those who can afford this technology and those who cannot will only deepen in the meantime