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 BRAVE NEW BABIES


 The latest form of technology! But does it obliterate one of the fundamental mysteries of procreation? Does it suprise you that American parents are visiting sites such as:  [|www.choosingthesexofyourbaby.com]  and [|www.myboyorgirl.com]   Many of these sites have a 'money back guarantee' option. Are we diminishing the joyful experience of bringing a new life into the world through child birth into just merely buying another object to add to the household? What's next? Choosing your child's eye color or intelligence? Will it upset the ratio of males to females in the United States as it has in China? The facts are quite amazing however in the end this is an extremely controversial issue and it all boils down to personal morals and beliefs. (Claudia Kalb) media type="file" key="Genetic_Engineering__the_Human_Genome_Project__and_Gene_Therapy.asf" This movie clip describes some of the original uses of genetic engineering, along with a description of how scientists are able to analyze your DNA.

Criticism


The so-called //Frankenstein // argument asserts that genetically engineering designer babies would compel us to think of each other as products or devices rather than people. The spectra has often been raised (for instance by the Center for Genetics and Society) of young parents-to-be who might one day send away for a catalog, compose a list of desirable features and order a custom infant produced to specification (Kevin Bosner).

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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">Scholarly Articles
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 128, 0);"> Dr. Jeff Steinberg discusses his aspirations for his Manhattan and Los Angelos Clinics. The technology is not perfect, however there is a preferred nationality which produces desired results. (110) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">Although written almost a decade ago, this article provides insight into the vast possibilities of genetic engineering and the reasons why some people find the technique of altering one's DNA so appealing. <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0);">In this article, there are multiple links to different pages that give different information about designer babies. An explanation is given to what designer babies are, and also how they are thought of around the world. There is also a game in which you can design a child, to make people think about whether or not designing a child is ethical. <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; color: rgb(0, 128, 0);"> In this article Mike Steere discusses whether creating a baby as if you were picking out clothing from a catalogue is a scary issue to consider. "With rapid advances in scientific knowledge of the human genome and our increasing ability to modify and change genes, this scenario of "designing" your baby could well be possible in the near future" (Steere). <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Genetic engineering of infants was originally intended to prevent disease, but now that couples know the many possibilities of this new technology, it may be impossible to stop the spread of designer babies. <span style="font-size: 130%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|1010Wins Article]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Designing Baby: Scientists on Verge of Manipulating Human DNA]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Background Information/Game on Designer Babies]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|CNN Article]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|TIME Article]

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[|Designer Babies: Ethical Considerations]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">While questioning the morality and ethicality of designer babies, this website offers in depth information about safety concerns of the technology and the different procedures offered to parents. [|Will Genetic Engineering Kill Us?] <span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">People fear that in the future, “technologies are going to divide human beings into classes that may one day try to destroy one another” (Mark Baard). [|"Designer Babies" Ethical?]<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(128, 0, 128);"> This article includes a video from The Early Show about designer babies, an article about this new form of genetic engineering, and posts from interested viewers.

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<span style="font-size: 130%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Videos/Games
[| Poll on Designer Babies] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">This website continually repeats the question “do the benefits of new genetic tools outweigh the risks?” after every few paragraphs of information. It offers a wealth of information about the morality of the situation, including individual questions to think about. [|CNN Video]

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Couples are now able to choose the sex of their babies. This video presents insight into how in-vitro fertilization works and compares the concerns of some fertility centers and religious groups to the enthusiasm of a couple who underwent this procedure. [|Designer Baby Advertisement] <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">This video is designed as a commercial for designing your child. This video makes the viewer think about the ethical issues behind choosing exactly what your child will look like, how strong they will be, and their intelligence level.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Uh Oh! Genetic Engineering Gone Wrong!!




<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%; color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">Discussion Questions:

 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">Will the ability to choose the sex of a child one day affect evolution?
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">How will the child feel when he/she finds out that he/she was genetically altered?
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">Is it morally right to create designer babies? Where do we draw the line?
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">Will having a baby eventually become like shopping for a new household object?
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">Due to the expensive cost of genetic engineering, will the rich eventually run the country because their children will be the most athletic, the most intelligent, and having winning personalities?
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">Will this put naturally born babies at a disadvantages?
 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">In time will the concept of "naturally conceived babies" be outdated? or even frowned upon?