The debate on ‘designer babies’ has been top news for the past couple of years. This is due to the intense arguments that it has generated because of its ethical impact. The facts below will offer helpful information to those individuals who ask themselves the question what is a designer baby?

The terminology was first coined by journalist to describe a child whose genetic makeup has been designed, or selectively chosen. Doctors and biotechnologists screen the embryos and select the desired characteristics. The technologies used are collectively known as reproductive technologies. Therefore, parents can make a baby with genetic composition of their choice.

Using InVitro Fertilisation (IVF), doctors are able to fertilize the eggs with sperms. This is done in the laboratory, using test tubes. Using karyomapping (a technique for screening genes for presence of disease), a child that has genes that are disease free can be developed. Parents can also select traits such as eye color, skin color, body size and intelligence, among others.

Researchers are certain that if advanced analyses are carried out, the remedy for treatment of chromosomal illnesses will be invented. This can be accomplished by substitution of defective segments of the embryonic DNA with normal ones. This process is called germ line therapy. This process has been successfully executed in animals but has not received licensing for humanoid experiments.

Some experiments of advanced reproductive technologies are, however, already being performed on humans. For example, doctors can selectively choose the sperm used to fertilize the egg and thus govern the inheritable factors and sex of the embryo. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis techniques are also being performed. This is a practice where the embryo, in the early stages, is screened for inherited abnormalities. Embryos that have been identified to meet the requirements can then be implanted back into the womb.

The licensing of designer babies is a duty of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. However, the certification has not occurred. The law, however, allows the modification of genetic factor in mature children and adults. Procedures, such as body cell gene therapy, are currently being used to treat conditions such as cystic fibrosis.

There are numerous possibilities that can be achieved by genetic alteration. In fact, there is potential that these procedures alter the human species to irreversible levels. Inheritable genetic modification is one of the techniques used in this field. It modifies genes in early embryos or even in the sperm and eggs. The result is the passage of altered genes to future generations.

There are a number of opinions about this technology because of its moral and biological impacts. The implanted genetic material may cause unpremeditated modifications in the cells. Due to lack of adequate research, the detrimental effects of the modifications have not been established. In addition, every single function in the human body is regulated a number of genes. Therefore, it is difficult to extract a gene that controls a single characteristic.

This technique can certainly generate a large difference in the social order. This is because the genetically modified people will have a greater advantage compared to other native human beings because of their unique traits. The novel human race may despise their antecedents. This could lead to the new human race looking down upon them. Every time the query of what is a designer baby is probed, arguments will always arise because most people believe that it is morally and religiously unacceptable.