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Designer Babies

Designer Babies. What are Designer Babies?. “A designer baby is a baby genetically engineered in vitro for specially selected traits, which can vary from lowered disease-risk to gender selection” – Sarah Ly. Definition :. How?.

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Designer Babies

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  1. Designer Babies

  2. What are Designer Babies? “A designer baby is a baby genetically engineered in vitro for specially selected traits, which can vary from lowered disease-risk to gender selection” – Sarah Ly Definition:

  3. How? Rapid advances in scientific knowledge of the human genome paired with the increasing ability to modify and change genes Testing either in utero, or in IVF cases, checks for diseases or other characteristics Pregnancy can then be terminated, or optimal embryos implanted via IVF.

  4. But What’s IVF? Fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish. When the IVF procedure is successful, the process is combined with a procedure known as embryo transfer, which involves physically placing the embryo in the uterus.

  5. When will it happen? Techniques of genetic screening are already being used to identify embryos by sex and by searching for certain disease-bearing genes In the future we may also be able to "cure" genetic diseases in embryos by replacing faulty sections of DNA with healthy DNA, in a process called germ line therapy.

  6. Real Life Examples • 1994 – The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs Support use of genetic selection as a means to prevent, cure, or specific diseases, but that selection based on benign characteristics is not ethical. • 1996 – Monique and Scott Collins - Genetics and IVF Institute in Fairfax, Virginia - Had two other boys and wanted a girl • Purely gender selection and not for a specific medical condition

  7. Examples Continued Joshua Fletcher – two years old – rare blood disease Parents want to create a perfect genetic match for Joshua’s immune system through IVF Stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood – transfused into Joshua – produce healthy red blood cells 85% chance Give some children life, while refusing life to others Baby could be born with the same blood disease because it occurs sporadically and has no cause Some say that it should be done in order to cure a sick child Needs blood transfusions every 3 weeks, bone marrow transfusion when he is five would be possible if he found an exact match – unlikely Has a five-year-old brother, but he is not an immune system match

  8. Cont. Connor Levy David Levy/Marybeth Scheidts Couldn’t get pregnant Tried artificial insemination 3 times Signed up for IVF Designer baby – scanned for chromosomal abnormalities Next Generation Sequencing – read every human genome and find abnormalities in each genome – select the ones that are likely to fertilize and be successful 3 embryos selected, one fertilized – other two in cold storage

  9. Ethical and Social Consequence • Creates a division between those that can afford the service and those that cannot. • The wealthy would be able to afford to select desirable traits for their offspring, while the lower socioeconomic standing would not be able to. • Therefore, the economic divisions would grow into genetic divisions with social distinctions delineating enhanced individuals from unenhanced individuals.

  10. Ethical/Moral Considerations • Questions to ask: • Are the technologies of genetic modification and selection safe enough to be used on humans? • Even if the technologies are safe, can they be morally defended? • Are we preventing disease or are we enhancing physical attributes for the child?

  11. Condemn or Condone? • Most of the major medical societies, such as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), have wildly different attitudes about when and where these techniques should be allowed. • Most people support it when it comes to eliminating diseases

  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ixEDLa3Jlc

  13. Ly, Sarah. "Ethics of Designer Babies." Ethics of Designer Babies. The Embryo Project Encyclopedia, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <http://embryo.asu.edu/print/463>. Marsh, Beezy. "Parents Fight for Designer Baby." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-300573/Parents-fight-designer-baby.html>. Weller, Chris. "Connor Levy Is First Baby Born Using New IVF Genetic Screening; 'Designer Babies' Still Far Down The Road." Medical Daily. N.p., 8 July 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <http://www.medicaldaily.com/connor-levy-first-baby-born-using-new-ivf-genetic-screening-designer-babies-still-far-down-road>. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/genetics/4340490 http://www.womensbioethics.org/index.php?p=The_Science_Behind_%93Designer_Babies%94&s=172

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