Fictional novels, pop culture, and sci-fi movies have embraced tales of altered humans in hypothetical societies. This notion has found its way in the childbirth process with the concept of designer babies. The genetic makeup of such babies is altered to eradicate faulty genes before the baby’s birth and confer immunity to certain dangerous diseases. Thus, the baby would be healthier than their peers. Read on if you are curious to learn more about designer babies, including their pros and cons and ethical considerations. The article also discusses a few cases where a designer baby was created.
What Is A Designer Baby?
‘Designer baby’ is an infant born after performing interventions in its pre-implantation embryo stage to influence the characteristics or traits the child might possess after birth (1). The advancement in genetic engineering and assisted reproductive technologies (ART), has made it possible to screen embryos for genetic disorders before implantation during in vitro fertilization. Using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), doctors can identify embryos that may carry the defective gene (2). The defective gene can be altered, resulting in a genetically-modified baby. Such infants are called designer babies since they have been ‘designed’ through gene alteration. You may probably find the idea of a designer baby a bit far-fetched. But did you know, the process has already been implemented?
Is World’s First Designer Baby Already a Reality?
Yes. There have been a couple of controversial instances where there was a creation of a designer baby. Designer babies may come across as superior and even life-saving in some situations. However, there are concerns among the general population and scientific community about the morality of the process.
Is It Ethical To Produce Designer Babies?
The prospect of producing genetically enhanced or designer babies has been surrounded by controversies. There is no consensus on the ethical side of creating designer babies. The matter is debatable. The National Human Genome Research Institute, USA has discussed a few ethical concerns related to human genome editing (6).
Making decisions on behalf of future generations: Bioethicists believe that giving parents a choice to choose traits of the children without their consent or knowledge violates a child’s right to live as an independent individual.
Widening social inequality: There is a view that access to germline editing could widen the social gap if the techniques are available only to those individuals or countries that can afford them. It can create disparities, wherein some bear the burden of genetic diseases because they cannot afford the treatment, or are in a different culture or geography. Image: Shutterstock
Deploying it for cosmetic/ skills enhancement: There have been concerns that instead of applying the technique to prevent or treat diseases, the method can be used to enhance human skills, talents, abilities, appearance, etc.
In July 2018, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, UK published a report stating that human genome editing could be ‘morally permissible’, even in cases of human enhancement, if it’s in the interest of the child (7). Gene alteration and creation of designer babies may or may not be an answer to control genetic ailments and diseases. There are both sides to creating designer babies.
Designer Babies: Pros and Cons
Human genome editing has been widely discussed mainly in two areas of research — editing in body cells (somatic cells) and editing in reproductive cells (germline). Scientific community and bioethicists are divided over the possible advantages and disadvantages of the process. Below are a few pros and cons of creating designer babies. Pros:
These techniques may help reduce or eliminate the risk of life-threatening genetic ailments in unborn babies (8). According to Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) can be used to test around 600 genetic conditions (9). This may help parents to avoid transferring genetic conditions to their babies. Researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in a study concluded that new gene-editing technology could correct up to 89% of genetic defects, including diseases like sickle cell anemia (10).
Cons:
The gene-editing methods are still considered experimental procedures, and further studies are needed to assess their effectiveness and safety in the long term (11). These techniques may cause other unwanted genetic modifications that may pass onto future generations (12). Gene alteration may not be accurate in many cases. It becomes trickier when one gene is responsible for several traits or when multiple genes influence a single trait (12).
