Ethical Considerations
So we've cracked the genetic code, and Kanye West is creating an engineered baby boy that will resemble his exact image. Kim has decided to do the same herself with another baby girl. "What has the world come to?" most people would ponder, Kanye recreating himself, unbelievable. Not really though. Though genetic modifications do have the potential to vastly improve the human race, the preceding situation is a very likely outcome of being able to genetically engineer human embryos. Curing cancer, ending deformities, eradicating illness, these all are great beneficial factors that genetic modification could enable. Extreme intelligence, vanity, obsessiveness, unnatural deformities, unrealistic beauty and mental standards, these are all potentially very negative attributes to society that genetic modification could enable. The likelihood of being able to birth the perfectly designed flawless child seems very appealing, with no mental or physical flaws. But where is the limit crossed? Where would we as a people say no to something that a mother and father wanted their child to have or possess. "We want our boy to be 6'5, have a naturally toned body, brown hair, full lips, blue eyes, and an IQ of 140." Hold on right there. The ability to modify for the greater good of a person's life is one thing, but when we can do this why can't we go beyond and satisfy our children's looks and thoughts? The possibility to simply select certain traits an offspring is wanted to possess creates an urge to pick and choose exactly what an individual is to look like without their concern or vote? This sounds almost akin to a human rights violation. Being a parent wanting the best for your baby is by all means understandable, but at what cost does this come at? The complex issue at hand is that the great medical advancements through stem cell implementation and gene editing can do so much good, preventing all sorts of horrible life affecting illnesses and defects, but the vanity in every parent would want their child to look how they thought was the best way to look. All the good can be so easily whisked away by the persisting need to improve and perfect. The answer is that what we could do with gene editing is neither right nor wrong, but it is us who are the deciding factor of which way the scale will tip, to or against the greater good of humanity.
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