is genetic engineering wrong or right!?

Question

would it alright for me to choose the sex, eye colour or skin colour of my child?

Answer 1

No, a child is a gift and I'm not talking in religious terms because I'm not religious. You can't just decide that a child isn't good enough for you because it isn't ideal. If there is something seriously wrong with the child (health wise) then that's different. I totally agree with screening tests that show if the baby is going have a horrible disease or something because they give parents a choice, however difficult, of whether they want a child that may suffer or whether they wish to abort.

Answer 2

I think it depends upon your situation.

If you have lost a child and you want another but you want the next to be just like the first I think it is wrong. You may have had a sweet little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes who never cried, and then after genetically choosing your next baby, he might have the same blonde hair and blue eyes but he might scream the place down, be obnoxious, temperamental, and you might wish he was your first child and not show him any love. An extreme situation, but it doesn't seem right.

However, choosing various options so that your child will not have a hereditary genetic disease that is (potentially) fatal, is a good reason to carry out genetic engineering. It means they will be able to do whatever they want to in life and will have a better quality of life because they will be healthier.

It's such a debatable question, whether it's right or wrong, and that is why it's still not yet approved of. However I think that so long as it's not for personal benefit, (for instance some people would rather die than have a ginger kid, don't know why) and so long as it's only for health reasons then it should be fine. So I therefore think that choosing sex, eye, hair and skin colour is off limits because that's a personal reason.

Answer 3

Although there are many bebefits from genetic engineering there has to be complete and utter understanding of every possible permutation of genes. As an example, gardeners have been combining plants of different types for many many years with no thought taken into account of the creatures that eat them and how this genetic mutation, given long term exposure, will genetically affect the creature. There are also creatures that eat those creatures, and so on, right through the food chain. Animals from different breeds have been bred to give certain attributes, with disastrous consequences. The German Shepherd dogs, which all have severe hip problems, proven to have been caused by the breeding (genetic engineering) process, is just one example. There are people in the world who, when finding out the sex of their unborn child, have it terminated, because the sex of the child has a massive beaing on any dowry that may be involved at a later stage in that family's life.
I agree that genetic engineering is deinitely a great thing when it is mastered, but I doubt if humankind will ever master it and until that time I think that it is a very dangerous and highly unpredictable path to take.

Answer 4

Nobody is going to be able to give a definitive answer to this. Its a matter of ethics and even more than that of personal opinion and people are not all going to agree. Frankly I think as genetic modification is going to become more widespread then parents may have the option of saving their baby from some genetic problems that might cause diseases or epilepsy or higher chances of cancer. As for choosing the sex, eye colour or skin colour of your child? I personally find that rather objectionable. As long as your baby is healthy you should be happy. Your child should certainly not be treated like a fashion accessory.

Answer 5

Eye colour or skin colour no. Gender maybe. There was a TV programme on a few weeks ago - the couple had 4 or 5 boys who they loved very much, but wanted a girl. It wasn't as if they didn't want their boys, they just didn't want another baby unless it was a girl. It is a dodgy area - some cultures consider girls inferior and only want boys - being able to chose if you didn't already have children would be wrong.

Answer 6

This is an ethical question. It's interesting that you posted it at the Science & Math site.

As with many other ethical questions, it is wise to consider how society will be affected by the decision you make ... and how society would be affected if many people chose to do what you are considering.

So I'll ask the question for you:
How would society be affected if people chose their babies' genders?
A significant amount of this goes on in China and some other nations. Sadly, it tends to occur by infanticide, where the parents do not allow an infant to survive if it is not of the desired gender. In many Asian cultures, the desired gender is male. As a result, far more boys than girls survive infancy.
And what effect does that have? There are too many young men and too few young women., As a result, many of the men have no one to date and to marry. I have heard (and this may or may not be true), that this has led to increased crime (committed by young men with nothing better to do) and to importing brides from North Korea.

If you're curious about how much the balance of nature can be affected by choice of babies' genders, do a Google search for:
sex ratio by nation
or something similar, and you will see that some countries are very far from having equal numbers of males and females.

Bottom line: Ask yourself whether your action, if practiced by everyone, would cause significant problems for our society.

Answer 7

I think genetic engineering is right. i am a mechanical engineer but have an interest in genetics. i think its right because if a man and woman are thinking of having a child they should be able to decide what their child should look like

Answer 8

Why would you want to alter the way a baby looks.
Skin colour?
Have you been a naughty girl?
Anyway haven't films like "The Island" scared you enough?

Answer 9

this is a moral answer not religious...

genes should NOT be altered WE as humans have not been given the right to alter anything about an unborn child re- colour looks or defects we are not designed to be perfect and not designed to live forever or extended life.
if we were supposed to be perfect and live long lives then we would be made of metal and electrics not flesh and blood

Answer 10

I have no problems with it at all - maybe you would like to go the next step? Checking for defects in the baby then decide whether to keep the baby or abort?

It's always been a difficult decision for many people to make, as it goes against what we are taught through life :)