2014+PERIOD+5+DESIGNER+BABIES

 Designer Babies



"[|A baby is God's opinion that life should go on.]" -[|Carl Sandburg]

What is a Designer Baby- “designer baby" refers to a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected by genetic engineering to ensure the presence or absence of particular genes or characteristics

What traits could be changed in a designer baby?
 * Gender
 * Appearance
 * Intelligence
 * Disease
 * Personality

Pros/Cons Pros Cons
 * Reduces risk of genetic and inherited diseases
 * Increased life span
 * Can give a child genes that the parents do not carry
 * Prevent next generation of family from getting characteristics/diseases
 * Gives mothers and fathers who can’t produce offspring a child
 * Possibility of discrimination among non genetically engineered people
 * No more natural births; messing with mother nature
 * Destroys other embryos in process
 * Could create a gap in society
 * Possibility of damage to the genes
 * Loss of Individuality
 * Only the rich can afford it
 * Discrimination in society; supremacy
 * Other children in family could feel less important

Is It Justified? Babies are the gift of which only females have the opportunity to explore on the sole fact they were born that way. Why can't men have the chance to bring life into the world and experience. The question "is this justified" is only opinion so there really isn't an answer. Prices The price range for a GE(genetically engineered) baby varies from as much as $100,000, but in the future this can decrease and become a regular thing to do if it is accepted.

Risks By investing time and money into a designer baby, you might w ant to know why its an option to go with. These babies can potentially develop unknown diseases, because we aren't that far into the stages and process of creating them.

Gender Choosing and Diseases > diseasing
 * By using different methods Doctors can choose the sex of the baby and test for
 * One of the method is the doctor takes a female egg and fertilizes it with a male sperm cell
 * The more effective method is called Pre-Implantation Genetic Dia[[image:drakalogia/picturecloning8.jpg width="142" align="right"]]gnosis (PGD) which is to fertilize a female egg in a test tube and have it grow out to determine what the sex of the baby is
 * If the sex of the baby is not the one you want they throw out the sample and they try again
 * They throw out the egg when they discover a disease in the sample

Webpages



News Articles http://www.medicaldaily.com/designer-babies-fertility-clinic-investigates-grown-results-genetically-modified-babies-299872 This article talks about a private fertility clinic is that was investigating the health of 17 designer babies it helped create using a procedure since banned by the FDA.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/10994805/Government-is-misleading-public-over-genetically-modified-babies-scientists-claim.html This article talks about how the Government is being dishonest in redefining genetic modification in order to minimise opposition to a new in vitro fertilisation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/opinion/genetically-modified-babies.html?_r=0 This article talks about how a new biological procedure that could modify humans and pass down genes to new and future generations.

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998238,00.html This article talks about Adam Nash, a two-month old new born who has made history as the first test-tube baby from an embryo.



Blogposts http://wmbriggs.com/blog/?p=12514 This blog gives stats and quotes from others on the morality of designing babies.

http://blogs.plos.org/dnascience/2014/03/06/mitohype-3-parent-designer-babies-revisited/ This blog shares the thoughts of others on the evolution of mankind as we dive further into the depths of genetically engineered babies.

Videos/Movies Gattaca - In this thrilling movie, a man is followed in his life of struggle as he is discriminated against for being not genetically engineered in a world where designer babies are the norm. This movie reveals the frightening world that may arise if designer babies become popular.

[] This video explains how designing your baby can work and even companies that are patenting the process for their profit.

[] This video asks the question, are designer babies morally right, and is it right to play god?

http://www.fertility-docs.com/htmldocs/Video_60Min-B.html This video shows the real life example of a woman who always wanted a daughter but could never get one until she had designed a baby.

Podcasts/Radio Programs [] This podcast talks about the advances in human genetic engineering may one day make it possible to design a newborn.

by Jack Chris Noah and Justin