Babies and Genetics: To Change or Not to Change?

Question

(This is also posted in the "Polls" section)

In the near future, all babies must receive genetic tests to screen for terminal diseases/conditions such as Anencephaly, Alzheimer’s, or Cancer. Additionally, parents can find out their baby's eye color, gender, sexual orientation, and mental disposition. This test can also predict, with 90% accuracy, whether the child will be obese.

You are the soon-to-be-parent of a baby girl and find out that she has no terminal genetic markers, will have brown hair and green eyes, will be heterosexual, and will be generally healthy, however, she has the highest marker for obesity and the doctors predict she will inevitably be a "fat" child and an "obese" adult, regardless of diet and exercise. Knowing this, and all the additional ramifications of obesity (prejudice, heart disease, diabetes), do you choose:

1. to have the baby
2. to abort
3. to alter her genetic make up

What is your choice & why?

PLEASE BE HONEST, SPECIFC, & RESPECTFUL!

Answer 1

In this particular case, I would chose to alter her genetic make-up. My ex-husband & I both have genetic predispositions for obesity. We struggle with our weight every day, and I would give almost anything to have NOT passed this on to my son. But we did. He struggles with his weight, too.
I also have to say that I fear the consequences of frequent genetic alterations. Where will we draw the line? Designer babies for everyone? What if a deaf couple wants their baby to be deaf like them? Will we alter genetic codes then? It seems very complicated and a little scary. We could have a situation like in the movie, "Gattaca."

Answer 2

Have you ever seen the movie Gattaca? It's a futuristic story about a world where the norm is for parents to choose the genetic makeup of their children before they are even conceived. The result is much more "perfect" human beings. Anyone in this world who has less than perfect DNA is an outcast and never has a chance to be anything but a burger flipper. It's a terrible scenario.

I think it would be terrible to abort a previously wanted child just because she might be fat. Almost as bad would be to alter her genetics, since it isn't natural. She's a human being, not a Whopper. You can't just "have it your way" when you're talking about who your baby is. Instead, the information should be used for preventative measures. Just because she has a higher risk than normal for being obese doesn't mean she will be fat no matter what. With proper diet and exercise, she would be normal. She just might have to work at it harder than most people.

Answer 3

Gender determination - it expenditures a lot of money yet it is the only for specific thank you to get a boy Prenatal genetics won't be able to alter the intercourse of your toddler - era The male determines this and you have purely as many X sperm as you do Y sperm **Edit: Prenatal genetics is illnesses which contain Downs Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle cellular ailment, Turner syndrome and so on..

Answer 4

1. Have the baby. Eating habits and lifestyle vastly override any and all genetics. Just look at the average American. Americans are not genetically prone to obesity unless they adopt the Standard American Diet (SAD) and the favored Sit On Your But life-style.

Answer 5

To have the baby. Genetics is only one factor in obesity. Honestly, speaking as a person who has fought weight her whole life, I would never even consider something so trivial as a reason to take a life. In fact, I find the whole concept chilling.
In fact, I think the whole thing is a dangerous slippery slope. We stand to lose much more than we gain if we have only designer babies.

Answer 6

Finally.

People practice eugenics anyway.

Do you choose a sick partner to mate with, or someone who is healthy and likely to produce healthy offspring? Do you choose someone who has a low IQ, or choose someone with some degree of intelligence in hopes that your offspring will grow to be an intelligent person? Do you choose someone from your own race in hopes of producing a similar genetic offspring? Do you choose someone from poverty and a lower social class, or do you choose some who is at least on par with your current station in life? Do you choose someone from another religion, or do you choose someone with conflict beliefs and values and raise a child who will "not fit in"?

Eliminating poverty, disease and suffering requires a focus on the outcomes of our choices.

Answer 7

What happened to the good ole days, you got pregnant and waited till it birth to find out what sex it was, I don't know, but I will tell you this I am glad I am not having any more children after reading this, but my child will be now I am worried for them.

Answer 8

I chose option three. For health reasons ONLY(!) would I ever consider altering genetic make up.

Answer 9

Parents have always tried to give their children as many advantages in life as possible - money, education, etc. Why shouldn't we try to give them genetic advantages as well? If we can safely and effectively reduce negatives (like susceptibility to disease) and enhance positives (like intelligence or strength), then it would be irresponsible for us not to do so.

Answer 10

alter genentic make up,
if people ar ealways tryignt o find things to do like alter genetic make up, and they dont care how it infects the mind of any one who hears about it it is better to go ahead and d o everythign you can to everything you wanbt.,., if you are going to do something worse than you want, the thing you are playing with will tell you