Should parents be able to modify their unborn children?🥼🧪

 

Genome editing has been developing since the 1970’s. This process consists of altering certain parts of a gene’s code. Its purpose is to serve as a therapy for people of all ages suffering from threatening diseases. However, a new and questionable use of genome editing was developed in 2015. Its most recent advancement involves the modification of DNA in the genes of unborn children. In other words, the process changes the traits and development of embryos, sperm, or egg. “If edited embryos are used to start a pregnancy, the changes affect every cell in the body of any resulting child, that child’s offspring, their offspring, and so on”(Center for Genetics and Society: What is Human Gene Editing?, par.2). Thanks to this, numerous countries have banned the growth of any edited inborn child.

Parents should not be granted permission to genetically modify their unborn children.  They would undeniably choose traits that would meet society’s ideal image of a perfect being, threatening the diversification of genes. “While they might have somewhat good intentions for wanting their child to be successful in society, they are overall limiting diversity in the human population” (Clare Jocelyn Mangubat, par.2) .  Genetic diversity would be drastically decreased since unique genetic attributes would be lost. Environmental changes would substatially affect the newly developed beings as adaptations would slowly decline.

Parents choosing their embryo’s traits do not take in consideration what their child would prefer. Originally, traits passed down from parents are not handpicked. They are naturally reflected in infants and no complaints arise. However, “allowing parents to choose how their child would turn out could cause tension in the family. Parents may want their daughter to be athletic and thus give her a muscular frame, but the daughter might not want to be involved with sports and could dislike the body that her parents purposefully chose for her because it reminds her that she did not fulfill their expectations” (Clare Jocelyn Mangubat, par.3). Genetically modified children will live in a constant pressure of having to succeed in what their parents imposed within their DNA. Their mental health would be at risk since they would constantly feel like they are not enough. These infants would solely focus on working and enhancing the traits their parents chose for them.  The modified children would exert excessively in fulfilling the destiny of an ideal society. Some would eventually break all their relations and hatred would end up enveloping them.

The modification of infants would lead to the increase of social divisions. “Adding enhanced genes as another aspect upon which people can create a further divided hierarchy in society will cause tension, pressure, and problems that can be avoided” (Clare Jocelyn Mangubat, par.5). What is considered normal would end up being determined by genetically altered beings since they would be defining which are the ideal humans of society. “People without enhanced genes could eventually be seen as disabled because they might not be perceived as being able to perform as well as those with enhanced genes” (Clare Jocelyn Mangubat, par.5). Discrimination, which is a  daily threat, would eventually worsen.

Genome editing should not allow parents to modify their unborn infants. This form of genetic modification would worsen society’s genetic diversity, children’s mental health and every societal division.  Instead, researchers should use their vast knowledge to better the health crises occurring today.

Citations URL: https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/internal-content/what-human-gene-editing

                        https://ysjournal.com/should-parents-be-able-to-choose-traits-for-their-children/