By: Natalie Lambert, Content Manager

With new technology emerging in the scientific field, the possibility for options such as genetically engineering children are soon becoming readily available. What the public calls “Designer Babies”, or children with traits hand -picked by their parents, are possibilities that might be introduced into mainstream society.

The concept of a Designer baby is for the parents of a child to carefully select which genes are introduced into their child’s gene pool. Scientific modification and genome screening will allow doctors and scientists to determine what DNA of the child is deemed “acceptable” or “in need of fixing”. Recent studies in the field of embryos and fetus development have provided scientists with various methods to use when approaching the issue.

“It’s stupid if you aren’t gonna love them the way they are then why are you having children,” says junior Julie Gottfried.

Much of the research is based on health related content. Scientists believe that genetically engineering a child will cut down on the risk of harmful diseases. With the ability to look at fetus development, scientists are able to view genes that signify possibly disease and replace them with healthier ones. This is a significant breakthrough in the medical industry, as before, scientists were still attempting to manipulate embryo development.

“[This could] have negative effects on their health because what if something went wrong and they grew a third arm or a second head? There’s just too much risk involved to even try it,” says senior Meghan Blanks.

A more controversial area regarding the subject, is the possibility to genetically select what the child will turn out to be, both physically and socially. Through studies, scientists believe they have also discovered possible ways to inject genes into the gene pool for intelligence factors, or to boost superior athletic skills. Investigations into physical changes have also been made, and research provides that physically selecting what a child will look like can happen.

“One parent might feel jealousy over the other parent because the child may have more qualities of one parent than if it were a natural birth,” says senior Brandon Kanhoye.

While some are in support of the idea of Designer babies, many organizations are against the idea of parents selecting their offsprings outcome. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine fears see discrimination in allowing parents to choose gender. Other medical facilities believe that the gene introduction could prove harmful to infants. Many also feel that parents selecting genes prior to birth can damage the relationships between the parents and children.

“Genetically creating children has a negative connotation because it sounds like parents must have a specific baby in order for them to love and view their child as beautiful,” says junior Jamira Perkins.

While the subject may still be controversial, this new scientific field is steadily becoming a prevalent concept in society. Only time will tell if this trend in modern science will be used as a method from now on.