Designer Babies

Fertility doctors and reproductive specialists have been helping couples become parents for years. With innovations such as in vitro fertilization, doctor's were able to fertilize the egg outside of the womb and theoretically alter it. The concept of 'designing' babies first arose when we discovered the technology to cure genetic diseases in embryos by replacing faulty DNA with healthy DNA. The knowledge of it's success turned the 'engineering' of children into a new field of science in itself. Reproductive Specialists have been working for years to try and help parents choose things such as the gender of their child. This technology allowed us to go further and alter the physical traits of a child. According to L.A.'s Fertility Institute, parents can already select the hair and eye color of their unborn fetus. 

This brings up some serious ethical questions. What happens if parents pay millions to pick and choose what their son or daughter will look like and they don't get the results they paid for? Will they love the child less? Will they not want the child anymore? Doesn't this objectify children and turn them into products? 

While I'm fascinated with the new technology we have, I'm also scared at how close we are to crossing the line. Playing god is dangerous and something that won't go without consequences. I personally love that we are growing as a race and still learning so much about the mysteries of life. On the other hand I do believe that by 'designing' babies, we are turning children into products. Like I mentioned before, what happens when the product doesn't turn out how the customer wanted? Children aren't objects and they certainly shouldn't be products you can buy. I mean think about it, if you can buy the kid you want, what's stopping someone from selling the kid they don't want? I know that's farfetched, but it's just something to think about. We need to be careful and responsible with the knowledge we continue gaining and respect human life for what it is.