Informative Report Draft

Shahadat Rahman 
English 21003 
Professor Matyakubova
 14 September, 2017

Should Designer Babies Be Allowed?

What if every danger associate with having a child could be eliminated; all children would be born healthy. With the development of CRISPR technology, this dream could soon be reality. CRISPR technology allows for the modification of genes, allowing them to be manipulated. Consequently, this could be used to change faulty DNA and rectify genetic disorders. This also creates a controversial byproduct, the ability to manipulate a child’s genes however one wishes. These “designer babies” have been the subject of debate over whether or not it is ethical to possibly genetically engineer humans. Although the scientific community is far from actually being able to genetically modify embryos so that they can remain viable post DNA editing and actually grow into a viable fetus, the basic technology is available. The real question is, should this technology be used? There are numerous sides to this debate, making it necessary to consider all of them before passing legislation on the situation.

How Does It Work?

            The ability to genetically engineer humans arises from the optimization and wide use of in vitro fertilization to fertilize an egg, thus opening the possibility of genetically modifying an embryo before it is implanted in the uterine wall. In addition, the development of DNA editing technologies, especially CRISPR/Cas9, has further enhanced our ability to accurately edit the genomes of live cells, thus enabling us to start editing the genomes of zygotes to express the desired inserted genes.

            CRISPR/Cas9 is a genome editing tool that allows geneticists to edit parts of the genome by excising, adding, or replacing components of the DNA sequence. The enzyme Cas9 is used to cut the two strands of DNA at specific locations— the Cas9 is guided to the correct location by guide RNA (gRNA), which is created to find and be complementary to the target DNA sequence.

This process takes place in vitro, which means that the egg is fertilized and modified outside the body, and then implanted into the uterine wall. Genetic disorders are detected in such early stages of life, especially in vitro, through preimplantation genetic diagnosis that tests the genetic material within the cell of the embryo derived from IVF genetic or chromosomal abnormalities.

Why Should Genetic Modification be Allowed?

            There are a host of benefits that will arise with the use of genetic modification of embryos, including the removal of certain genes. Genetic disorders arise from faulty coding in DNA, whether they happen at birth or occur due to environmental factors. Current DNA editing technologies have been successful in manipulating certain genes in vitro. The editing and removal of certain genes that code for mutations or genes that cause disease will result in healthier, more viable offspring. This will result in less medical complications later in life due to the disease that was edited out. For example, if a family has a history of breast cancer, by excising the genes that code for breast cancer, the family’s disease history will no longer affect future generations. In vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic diagnosis already allow embryos to be screened to find out which genes they have and which genes are missing. Therefore, genetic modification is only a natural step in the process by allowing the genome to be repaired.

            Furthermore, removing genetic diseases will remove stress and emotional strain on both the child and parents, as well as result in an overall healthier population. Removing critical diseases such as autism or eczema will save parents stress that stems from the treatment and the attention that children with these diseases require. In addition, this process also has benefits for the overall population. If genetic diseases are screened for and dealt with in the embryo, the next generation will be guaranteed to be healthy. Hereditary genetic disorders could no longer be passed down if they were no longer in the genome. Therefore, as more generations receive screening and major disease sequences are replaced with healthy sequences, less DNA editing will be required and the overall population will be healthier and less susceptible to acquiring genetic disorders. This process could use a systematic approach where DNA editing would be used to treat life threatening genetic disorders first, then move on to less severe conditions.

            Genetic engineering would also save researchers from one of the biggest challenges they face: money. With the treatment and diminishment of genetic diseases, less money can be spent on research and treatment of these diseases and this money can be allocated elsewhere. For example, diseases that aren’t genetic that require more funding for progress can get the funding they need. Also, rare genetic diseases that don’t receive the funding they need for treatment can immediately be removed from the embryo DNA. Doing this would save more than $50 million dollars, rather than wasting time looking for a cure or treatment for a particular disease.

Why Genetic Engineering shouldn’t be allowed

            Despite all the good that can be done, is still much unknown about the use of genetic engineering and its effects on the gene pool. This process has only been attempted once before in a human embryo, with only one specific gene. The use of CRISPR technology in this experiment had a low success rate of only 15%. Furthermore, changing the expression of genes in an embryo could have unprecedented effects on the body. Epigenetics is the study of how the activation of certain genes, or lack thereof, affects the expression of other genes. Trying to grow human embryos with modified genes will lead to a great amount of uncertainty to the viability of the organism. Many genes are controlled through complex mechanisms that are not fully understood, and manipulating one gene during the embryo stage can affect how the embryo develops, possibly leading to more harm than good. Additionally, in a poll conducted by TIME magazine, % of parents in the US would choose favorable traits for their children if possible, including the gender and enhancing intelligence. This would disrupt the gene pool of the overall population and could lead to various problems such as the disappearance of certain vital traits as well as a decrease in population due to a gender imbalance.

            The freedom this process seemingly affords parents could, in fact, be limiting the freedom of the child. Parents already possess a high degree of control over the outcome of their children’s lives by controlling the environment around them. For example, if a parent wanted to make their child smarter they could send them to tutoring classes, if a parent wished their child was musically adept the child could be sent to music classes, and if a parent wanted their child to be better at soccer they could send their child to soccer practice. This process also allows the child the freedom to choose what they would like to purse. On the other hand, if the parent decides these traits before the child is born, the child has no say. A child can be programmed to be adept at certain tasks, while being left inept at other tasks. This has a paradoxical effect which limits the child’s freedom instead of granting it more freedom.

            If this technology becomes a realistic and accessible medical practice, then it would create a division between those that can afford the service and those that cannot. The entire process can cost upwards of $75,000 and includes methods such as in vitro fertilization which are not covered by insurance, therefore making it impractical for underprivileged people. The average family in America makes $50,000 per family, making this practice nearly impossible to afford. This process would only benefit the wealthy, enhancing them even further and widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Economic division would transform into genetic division, with only enhanced people in the upper echelon of society.

Closing Statement

            In essence, this multifaceted debate over genetic engineering presents many benefits and detriments pertaining to the use of this process, necessitating more research before a decision is made on its use. On one hand, genetic engineering can afford certain benefits such as the removal of life threatening genetic disorders and allow research to be done on diseases that aren’t genetic. On the other hand, there is still much that is unknown about the possible side effects of this process, a process that only the rich can afford and would only enhance those who already stand at the top of the social hierarchy. Although scientists are not at the stage where this is plausible, the technology is quickly evolving and genetically modifying embryos could be possible within the next decade. This problem needs to be tackled before it arises, so when the technology does come to fruition society can safely take full advantage of this situation.

Works Cited

Gyngell, Christopher, and Christopher Gyngell is a bioethicist from the University of Oxford.      “The case for genetically engineered babies.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media,       1 May 2015, www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/01/fear-of-designer-babies           shouldnt-distract-us-from-the-goal-of-healthy-babies. Accessed 14 Sept. 2017.

Liang, Puping, et al. “CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated gene editing in human tripronuclear zygotes.”            SpringerLink, Higher Education Press, 18 Apr. 2015,           link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13238-015-0153-5/fulltext.html. Accessed 14 Sept. 2017.

“The Embryo Project Encyclopedia.” Ethics of Designer Babies The Embryo Project        Encyclopedia, https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/ethics-designer-babies, Accessed 14 September. 2017.

 “The Prospect of Designer Babies: Is it Inevitable?” The Prospect of Designer Babies: Is it   Inevitable? | The People, Ideas, and Things (PIT) Journal,      pitjournal.unc.edu/article/prospect-designer-babies-it-inevitable. Accessed 14 Sept. 2017.

“What is CRISPR-Cas9?” Facts, The Public Engagement team at the Wellcome Genome Campus,    19 Dec. 2016, www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-crispr-cas9. Accessed 14 Sept. 2017.