Online Casebook
Baird, Stephen L. "Designer Babies: Eugenics Repackaged Or Consumer Options? (Cover Story)." Technology Teacher 66.7 (2007): 12-16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
According to Stephen L. Baird in his essay “designer babies: Eugenics repackaged or consumer options?” living organisms are composed of millions of cells. Every cell has a nucleus, and inside each nucleus are strings of DNA. DNA is basically the entire report concerning anything related to the function and structure of organisms ranging from animals and plants to bacterium. Then, there are genes which are arrangements of DNA that decide an organism’s growth, size and other characteristics. Genes are what we pass on from generation to generation. Genetic engineering is the performance of artificially manipulating these inheritable characteristics. There are several different kinds of ways to perform such procedures depending on your purpose. There is vitro fertilization, and preimplantation genetic selection which are two he focuses on. PGS is the practice by which an embryo is microscopically inspected for traces of genetic disorders. Thanks to this capability, many genetically based diseases can now be identified. Some examples would be Tay-Sachs, Down syndrome, and Sickle cell anemia. It was nearly 3 decades ago when the very first test tube baby was born. There were all sorts of protests and people claiming science had gone amok. This was quickly put to an end when they found that the baby was perfectly happy and healthy. But, he clearly states that for these test no real genetic engineering is taking place; rather individual cells are removed from embryos. The next step is for the cells to be examined to determine which ones are carrying the genetic disorder and which ones are not. The ones that are found to be diseased are simply discarded and the good ones are implanted into the woman’s uterus. For the most part the procedure is uncontroversial and poses no new dangers today, but there are those few who just blatantly feel that the human life begins at conception and the embryo should never be manipulated or interfered with. In some cases due to moral or religious grounds. Two other forms of testing of the embryos include gender selection and tissue matching. The writer then tell the story of a young boy who suffered from Diamond Blackfan Anemia but was cured with the tissue matching procedure after transplanting cells from his baby brother who was created to save him. These technologies have advanced over the years and were once looked upon as extensively disturbing but now many view it as just another part of modern day culture. There are many possibilities that one day we will be attempting to engineer delicate aspects of our children’s intelligence, personality, and character; which is expected to bring about very intense heartfelt social consequences. Questioning what it truly means to be human due to our desires to take it upon ourselves to redesign ourselves. The capability to modify the genes we pass to our offspring is quickly becoming the most substantial technological beginning in all human history. Once people start genetically engineering their babies for desirable traits we will have reached a point of no return. Not everyone yet quite understands nor agrees with the full potential of new human genetic technologies. Either you’re opposed to change or you use it to your advantage. There is no worldwide approved ideal of biological perfection and to make deliberate changes in the genes that people will pass on to their descendants would force us as a society to agree on what is to be considered “good” and “bad” genes. No matter what we will always face the possibility of people going out of control correcting perfectly healthy babies. There are the ups and the downs but on the bright side you can look at genetic engineering as a way to prevent our precious children from suffering from deadly genetic diseases.
The author Baird, Stephen L. is a technology teacher and this article is credible because I got it from an academic journal on Sinclair’s library database. The information provided in this article is very up to date, relevant to my topic and unbiased. I will be using this source to examine the different forms of genetic engineering through different medical processes. Also the pros and cons that people gave expressed, including religious views.
Bliss, John. Designer Babies. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2012. Print.
In the book Designer Babies written by John Bliss he “discusses the controversy over genetically selected infants, or “designer babies,” and outlines the advantage of trait selection and prenatal screening, as well as the ethical concerns over genetic selection.” Chapter two in particular discusses how it works and with the main agent being in vitro fertilization. In today’s time the only way to pick specific genetic traits in humans is by the use of embryos that have been created through the process of IVF. Direct manipulation of genes is not necessary. The alternative to this is the fertilization of eggs then “the resulting embryos are scanned for appropriate traits.” Though IVF is not perfect or guaranteed to work, there have been many births as a result of it. [“During IVF an egg from the mother is fertilized in the lab then placed into the mother’s womb.”]
The author is successful at explaining the concept of IVF and how it makes other forms of genetic engineering possible which is how I’ll be incorporating this source into my paper. This chapter provides clarity.
Catalano, Michael. "The Prospect of Designer Babies: Is It Inevitable?" The People, Ideas, and Things (PIT) Journal. PIT Journal, 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
While evaluating the future of genetic engineering, scholars have come up with many suggestions, ideas, and arguments. Some have chosen to focus on the opinion of the public and ethical arguments while others have chosen to view governmental regulations which could possibly become necessary. But, what hasn’t yet been considered is “how the social pressure exerted by doctors and other Americans will impact the way we look at the technology.” Many people view this technology as immoral but we must face the fact that it very much has the potential of entering doctors office’s as a common practice in society. Although human genetic engineering is not yet possible, there are several other similar procedures that will only lead to it. You have to consider the possibility of this getting out of control, meaning parents purchasing genes that will specifically give their child a gift or advantage over other children and it all just becoming a competition to keep up. Leaving people feeling as if they have no choice but to engineer or have their children suffer “on the lower end of the social spectrum”. Regulations need to be pushed and implemented in order to ensure that people do not feel the pressure to automatically conform.
This article is an outline of an experiment conducted by the author Michael Catalano which provides very accurate, current, and unbiased information to readers. It’s very detailed, sources are cited and it’s educational based. I will be mostly using this source for the purpose of expressing the importance of government regulation when it comes to genetic engineering to avoid society creating a disaster with every child being born unnaturally.
Iredale, Rachel, et al. "What Choices Should We Be Able To Make About Designer Babies? A Citizens’ Jury Of Young People In South Wales." Health Expectations 9.3 (2006): 207-217. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014
New technologies, ideas, and creations are emerging each day and younger generations will progressively have the advantage of utilizing new technologies for reproductive decision making but they rarely ever have the opportunity to let their voice be heard regarding the topic. Therefore, accurately capturing their views could be quite challenging. Experimental studies showed that youth had similar tolerance levels of genetic engineering as adults. Majority found it acceptable to use such procedures for the purpose of preventing inherited diseases or conditions and creating healthy children to save the life of their suffering sibling, which is the concept of saviour siblings. The healthy child is born with specific organs or blood type needed to transfer onto their sibling to cure them of a genetic disorder.
The authors of this article are Rachel Iredale, Markus Langley, Christian Thomas, and Anita Shaw. This article is very credible due to fact that it’s an academic journal provided by Sinclair’s library database. I will be using it to express the importance of youth opinion, also to demonstrate if there were any differences between the old and the young. This source also allowed me to introduce another form of designer babies which are saviour siblings.
Ly, Sarah. "The Embryo Project Encyclopedia." Ethics of Designer Babies. Arizona State University. School of Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project Encyclopedia., 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Designer babies are babies that have been genetically modified through the process of in vitro fertilization for specially picked traits, which can range all the way from attempts at disease prevention to gender selection. Before the onset of genetic modification/engineering and in vitro fertilization, designer babies were a mere science fiction idea. In the early case that took place in 1996 when a couple by the names of Monique and Scott Collins went through the process of having a designer baby for the purpose of gender selection it generated a lot of media attention and also brought about many concerns. The case “raised the issues of selection for other traits such as eye color, hair color, athleticism, or height that are not related to the health of the child.” Previous to the Collins case, the council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs published a declaration in 1994 in support of genetic engineering but strictly only for the purposes of preventing and curing disease. Gender selection is not ethical. Proving that people are general morally supportive when it’s for a good cause. Socially, people argue that if the technology needed was to emerge and make it fully possible to design your baby it would build a wall between those that are fortunate enough to afford the service and those who are not; Creating division within society, with the wealthier individuals having the opportunity to forgo the selection of desirable traits in their children, while others who are further down in the financial ranks would not have this equal opputinity. Resulting in not only economic division but genetic divisions as well, “other bioethicists have argued that parents have a right to prenatal autonomy, which grants them the right to decide the fate of their children.”
This article was written by Sarah Ly. There isn’t much information about her personally but the article seems to be very credible. I found it on an educational website and the information provided is supported by other professionals in the field of health and law, its current, relevant and unbiased. There are plenty different arguments presented and I will be using this source to show that there would definitely be effects of society with the creation of designer babies. Also I will use it to express how people have different morals when it comes down to genetic engineering for the purpose of physical appearance or characteristics versus disease prevention. In most cases people will support one concept but not the other.
Lynas, Mark. "We Must Stop Trying To Engineer Nature." New Statesman 136.4833 (2007): 20. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014
For the most part, any parent out there suffering from the loss of a child knows that there is no other kind of pain like it. The author tells the story of his sister-in-law and her husband who lost their 4 month old firstborn child to a genetic disease by the name of cystic fibrosis. It tore their world apart and tests proved that both parents were carrying the deadly gene, leaving future children at risk of suffering. To avoid a repeat, reproductive technology provided a potential solution which was the process of creating embryos through in vitro fertilization. Cells were screened for the disease, proceeding with the process of implanting CF-free embryos. The procedure was successful, giving the couple the opportunity to be parents to not only one but two happy, health, CF-free children. This scenario demonstrates how advancements in medical technologies can be very life changing and beneficial. But, there are the people who use such technologies for much more shallow reasons. Texas is home of the world’s first human embryo bank, which is where anticipated parents can purchase embryos via mail order, with their biological parents pre-specified for your desirable traits, blond hair and blue eyes being the perfect example of this for the price of around the price of $6,917. “The Abraham Centre of life even boasts that all its sperm donors have doctorate degrees. Its director, Jennalee Ryan, is untroubled by the ethical issues raised by her company.” Stating that they are assisting couples and distributing good genes back into the universe. With both stories being true, you can pretty much differentiate between the two ways the medical technologies are being put to use. Reproductive medical procedures can have both good and bad applications. Even though vulgar eugenics and racial wipeout are widely believed to have been put to a halt with the Nazis, “the commodification of human reproduction could lead us blindly down the same eventual path.” The author is deeply opposed to the advancing trends. Even with the knowledge of both the good and bad side, expressing how such procedures for the use of disease prevention and cure could be worse than the actual disease itself. We are living In a society with technology becoming one f the most powerful agents over human life, continuously abusing what it truly means to be free and human. Lynas desires to witness a society in which human beings stop making efforts to control nature, and accept all aspects of life. Meaning we must be able to face diseases, difficulties, and death. Rather than trying to prevent it. “Suffering may be bad, but the alternative may prove to be far, far worse.”
Lynas is an author, journalist and environmental activist who focuses on climate change. He is also a member of the advisory board of the science advocacy group sense about science, and is vice-chair of the world economic forum’s global agenda council on emerging technologies, which produces an annual top 10 list of the technologies with the most potential to change the way we live. I found this brief description of who he is on his personal website.
This article was written to inform people on both the good and bad aspects of genetic engineering with a focus on nature and environment. I found this article on Sinclair’s academic search complete database. It’s current, relevant, and credible especially with the author’s background. It’s also unbiased because of how he makes it a point to evaluate different views of the subject at hand, making it the reader’s choice on rather to agree with him or not.
I will be using this source to show the different ways in which advancing medical technologies can be used. Demonstrate the costs of such procedures and show that the natural process of birth should not be interfered with by humans.
Stein, Rob. "'Embryo Bank' Stirs Ethics Fears." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 06 Jan. 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Writer Rob Stein took a different route when it came to his article structure; it's more of a dialogue/interview type of piece, covering the story of a woman by the name of Jennalee Ryan and her embryo bank company. The Abraham Center of Life is a company that has developed through producing and marketing of pre-made embryos. Clients cannot just chose traits that they desire though and have them custom made, they have to pick from what she has available and egg donors must meet strict requirements in order to donate. Donors are paid a total of $3500 by the donee but there is also the possibility of making more money if the donor has “earned a postgraduate degree” or acquires a unique skill, characteristic, or trait.
The author Rob Stein is a writer for the Washington Post and I feel that this article is credible because it uses direct language as to what information he found, rather than summarizing it himself, which is proof and evidence. I chose this source for the purpose of getting knowledge on what the world really has to offer in the genetic area, the reasoning why I choose to research this company. It gave me insight on my topic and costs in actuals, which I was interested in discussing too.
Baird, Stephen L. "Designer Babies: Eugenics Repackaged Or Consumer Options? (Cover Story)." Technology Teacher 66.7 (2007): 12-16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
According to Stephen L. Baird in his essay “designer babies: Eugenics repackaged or consumer options?” living organisms are composed of millions of cells. Every cell has a nucleus, and inside each nucleus are strings of DNA. DNA is basically the entire report concerning anything related to the function and structure of organisms ranging from animals and plants to bacterium. Then, there are genes which are arrangements of DNA that decide an organism’s growth, size and other characteristics. Genes are what we pass on from generation to generation. Genetic engineering is the performance of artificially manipulating these inheritable characteristics. There are several different kinds of ways to perform such procedures depending on your purpose. There is vitro fertilization, and preimplantation genetic selection which are two he focuses on. PGS is the practice by which an embryo is microscopically inspected for traces of genetic disorders. Thanks to this capability, many genetically based diseases can now be identified. Some examples would be Tay-Sachs, Down syndrome, and Sickle cell anemia. It was nearly 3 decades ago when the very first test tube baby was born. There were all sorts of protests and people claiming science had gone amok. This was quickly put to an end when they found that the baby was perfectly happy and healthy. But, he clearly states that for these test no real genetic engineering is taking place; rather individual cells are removed from embryos. The next step is for the cells to be examined to determine which ones are carrying the genetic disorder and which ones are not. The ones that are found to be diseased are simply discarded and the good ones are implanted into the woman’s uterus. For the most part the procedure is uncontroversial and poses no new dangers today, but there are those few who just blatantly feel that the human life begins at conception and the embryo should never be manipulated or interfered with. In some cases due to moral or religious grounds. Two other forms of testing of the embryos include gender selection and tissue matching. The writer then tell the story of a young boy who suffered from Diamond Blackfan Anemia but was cured with the tissue matching procedure after transplanting cells from his baby brother who was created to save him. These technologies have advanced over the years and were once looked upon as extensively disturbing but now many view it as just another part of modern day culture. There are many possibilities that one day we will be attempting to engineer delicate aspects of our children’s intelligence, personality, and character; which is expected to bring about very intense heartfelt social consequences. Questioning what it truly means to be human due to our desires to take it upon ourselves to redesign ourselves. The capability to modify the genes we pass to our offspring is quickly becoming the most substantial technological beginning in all human history. Once people start genetically engineering their babies for desirable traits we will have reached a point of no return. Not everyone yet quite understands nor agrees with the full potential of new human genetic technologies. Either you’re opposed to change or you use it to your advantage. There is no worldwide approved ideal of biological perfection and to make deliberate changes in the genes that people will pass on to their descendants would force us as a society to agree on what is to be considered “good” and “bad” genes. No matter what we will always face the possibility of people going out of control correcting perfectly healthy babies. There are the ups and the downs but on the bright side you can look at genetic engineering as a way to prevent our precious children from suffering from deadly genetic diseases.
The author Baird, Stephen L. is a technology teacher and this article is credible because I got it from an academic journal on Sinclair’s library database. The information provided in this article is very up to date, relevant to my topic and unbiased. I will be using this source to examine the different forms of genetic engineering through different medical processes. Also the pros and cons that people gave expressed, including religious views.
Bliss, John. Designer Babies. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2012. Print.
In the book Designer Babies written by John Bliss he “discusses the controversy over genetically selected infants, or “designer babies,” and outlines the advantage of trait selection and prenatal screening, as well as the ethical concerns over genetic selection.” Chapter two in particular discusses how it works and with the main agent being in vitro fertilization. In today’s time the only way to pick specific genetic traits in humans is by the use of embryos that have been created through the process of IVF. Direct manipulation of genes is not necessary. The alternative to this is the fertilization of eggs then “the resulting embryos are scanned for appropriate traits.” Though IVF is not perfect or guaranteed to work, there have been many births as a result of it. [“During IVF an egg from the mother is fertilized in the lab then placed into the mother’s womb.”]
The author is successful at explaining the concept of IVF and how it makes other forms of genetic engineering possible which is how I’ll be incorporating this source into my paper. This chapter provides clarity.
Catalano, Michael. "The Prospect of Designer Babies: Is It Inevitable?" The People, Ideas, and Things (PIT) Journal. PIT Journal, 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
While evaluating the future of genetic engineering, scholars have come up with many suggestions, ideas, and arguments. Some have chosen to focus on the opinion of the public and ethical arguments while others have chosen to view governmental regulations which could possibly become necessary. But, what hasn’t yet been considered is “how the social pressure exerted by doctors and other Americans will impact the way we look at the technology.” Many people view this technology as immoral but we must face the fact that it very much has the potential of entering doctors office’s as a common practice in society. Although human genetic engineering is not yet possible, there are several other similar procedures that will only lead to it. You have to consider the possibility of this getting out of control, meaning parents purchasing genes that will specifically give their child a gift or advantage over other children and it all just becoming a competition to keep up. Leaving people feeling as if they have no choice but to engineer or have their children suffer “on the lower end of the social spectrum”. Regulations need to be pushed and implemented in order to ensure that people do not feel the pressure to automatically conform.
This article is an outline of an experiment conducted by the author Michael Catalano which provides very accurate, current, and unbiased information to readers. It’s very detailed, sources are cited and it’s educational based. I will be mostly using this source for the purpose of expressing the importance of government regulation when it comes to genetic engineering to avoid society creating a disaster with every child being born unnaturally.
Iredale, Rachel, et al. "What Choices Should We Be Able To Make About Designer Babies? A Citizens’ Jury Of Young People In South Wales." Health Expectations 9.3 (2006): 207-217. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014
New technologies, ideas, and creations are emerging each day and younger generations will progressively have the advantage of utilizing new technologies for reproductive decision making but they rarely ever have the opportunity to let their voice be heard regarding the topic. Therefore, accurately capturing their views could be quite challenging. Experimental studies showed that youth had similar tolerance levels of genetic engineering as adults. Majority found it acceptable to use such procedures for the purpose of preventing inherited diseases or conditions and creating healthy children to save the life of their suffering sibling, which is the concept of saviour siblings. The healthy child is born with specific organs or blood type needed to transfer onto their sibling to cure them of a genetic disorder.
The authors of this article are Rachel Iredale, Markus Langley, Christian Thomas, and Anita Shaw. This article is very credible due to fact that it’s an academic journal provided by Sinclair’s library database. I will be using it to express the importance of youth opinion, also to demonstrate if there were any differences between the old and the young. This source also allowed me to introduce another form of designer babies which are saviour siblings.
Ly, Sarah. "The Embryo Project Encyclopedia." Ethics of Designer Babies. Arizona State University. School of Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project Encyclopedia., 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Designer babies are babies that have been genetically modified through the process of in vitro fertilization for specially picked traits, which can range all the way from attempts at disease prevention to gender selection. Before the onset of genetic modification/engineering and in vitro fertilization, designer babies were a mere science fiction idea. In the early case that took place in 1996 when a couple by the names of Monique and Scott Collins went through the process of having a designer baby for the purpose of gender selection it generated a lot of media attention and also brought about many concerns. The case “raised the issues of selection for other traits such as eye color, hair color, athleticism, or height that are not related to the health of the child.” Previous to the Collins case, the council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs published a declaration in 1994 in support of genetic engineering but strictly only for the purposes of preventing and curing disease. Gender selection is not ethical. Proving that people are general morally supportive when it’s for a good cause. Socially, people argue that if the technology needed was to emerge and make it fully possible to design your baby it would build a wall between those that are fortunate enough to afford the service and those who are not; Creating division within society, with the wealthier individuals having the opportunity to forgo the selection of desirable traits in their children, while others who are further down in the financial ranks would not have this equal opputinity. Resulting in not only economic division but genetic divisions as well, “other bioethicists have argued that parents have a right to prenatal autonomy, which grants them the right to decide the fate of their children.”
This article was written by Sarah Ly. There isn’t much information about her personally but the article seems to be very credible. I found it on an educational website and the information provided is supported by other professionals in the field of health and law, its current, relevant and unbiased. There are plenty different arguments presented and I will be using this source to show that there would definitely be effects of society with the creation of designer babies. Also I will use it to express how people have different morals when it comes down to genetic engineering for the purpose of physical appearance or characteristics versus disease prevention. In most cases people will support one concept but not the other.
Lynas, Mark. "We Must Stop Trying To Engineer Nature." New Statesman 136.4833 (2007): 20. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014
For the most part, any parent out there suffering from the loss of a child knows that there is no other kind of pain like it. The author tells the story of his sister-in-law and her husband who lost their 4 month old firstborn child to a genetic disease by the name of cystic fibrosis. It tore their world apart and tests proved that both parents were carrying the deadly gene, leaving future children at risk of suffering. To avoid a repeat, reproductive technology provided a potential solution which was the process of creating embryos through in vitro fertilization. Cells were screened for the disease, proceeding with the process of implanting CF-free embryos. The procedure was successful, giving the couple the opportunity to be parents to not only one but two happy, health, CF-free children. This scenario demonstrates how advancements in medical technologies can be very life changing and beneficial. But, there are the people who use such technologies for much more shallow reasons. Texas is home of the world’s first human embryo bank, which is where anticipated parents can purchase embryos via mail order, with their biological parents pre-specified for your desirable traits, blond hair and blue eyes being the perfect example of this for the price of around the price of $6,917. “The Abraham Centre of life even boasts that all its sperm donors have doctorate degrees. Its director, Jennalee Ryan, is untroubled by the ethical issues raised by her company.” Stating that they are assisting couples and distributing good genes back into the universe. With both stories being true, you can pretty much differentiate between the two ways the medical technologies are being put to use. Reproductive medical procedures can have both good and bad applications. Even though vulgar eugenics and racial wipeout are widely believed to have been put to a halt with the Nazis, “the commodification of human reproduction could lead us blindly down the same eventual path.” The author is deeply opposed to the advancing trends. Even with the knowledge of both the good and bad side, expressing how such procedures for the use of disease prevention and cure could be worse than the actual disease itself. We are living In a society with technology becoming one f the most powerful agents over human life, continuously abusing what it truly means to be free and human. Lynas desires to witness a society in which human beings stop making efforts to control nature, and accept all aspects of life. Meaning we must be able to face diseases, difficulties, and death. Rather than trying to prevent it. “Suffering may be bad, but the alternative may prove to be far, far worse.”
Lynas is an author, journalist and environmental activist who focuses on climate change. He is also a member of the advisory board of the science advocacy group sense about science, and is vice-chair of the world economic forum’s global agenda council on emerging technologies, which produces an annual top 10 list of the technologies with the most potential to change the way we live. I found this brief description of who he is on his personal website.
This article was written to inform people on both the good and bad aspects of genetic engineering with a focus on nature and environment. I found this article on Sinclair’s academic search complete database. It’s current, relevant, and credible especially with the author’s background. It’s also unbiased because of how he makes it a point to evaluate different views of the subject at hand, making it the reader’s choice on rather to agree with him or not.
I will be using this source to show the different ways in which advancing medical technologies can be used. Demonstrate the costs of such procedures and show that the natural process of birth should not be interfered with by humans.
Stein, Rob. "'Embryo Bank' Stirs Ethics Fears." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 06 Jan. 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Writer Rob Stein took a different route when it came to his article structure; it's more of a dialogue/interview type of piece, covering the story of a woman by the name of Jennalee Ryan and her embryo bank company. The Abraham Center of Life is a company that has developed through producing and marketing of pre-made embryos. Clients cannot just chose traits that they desire though and have them custom made, they have to pick from what she has available and egg donors must meet strict requirements in order to donate. Donors are paid a total of $3500 by the donee but there is also the possibility of making more money if the donor has “earned a postgraduate degree” or acquires a unique skill, characteristic, or trait.
The author Rob Stein is a writer for the Washington Post and I feel that this article is credible because it uses direct language as to what information he found, rather than summarizing it himself, which is proof and evidence. I chose this source for the purpose of getting knowledge on what the world really has to offer in the genetic area, the reasoning why I choose to research this company. It gave me insight on my topic and costs in actuals, which I was interested in discussing too.