Personalized babies are a technology that uses genetic manipulation to create babies with specific traits. This opens up a wide range of possibilities, from preventing and treating diseases to choosing our appearance, and raises a number of ethical questions.
Since the dawn of time, humans have imagined a more perfect and healthy life. In modern times, as biotechnology becomes more and more advanced, these imaginings are becoming increasingly realized, most notably with the advent of the so-called personalized baby. A personalized baby is a baby born from an embryo whose characteristics have been altered through genetic manipulation and transformation. In the past, this technology was mainly focused on the treatment and prevention of rare congenital or genetic diseases. However, in recent years, the technology has been used in an increasingly diverse range of cases, and the lack of clear guidelines has led to many social and ethical controversies. In this article, we’ll take a look at personalized babies and the bioethics surrounding them.
First, let’s take a look at the case of a personalized baby in the UK in 2003. A British couple sued to obtain medical authorization for a custom baby procedure to treat their 4-year-old son, who was suffering from life-threatening pernicious anemia. The UK High Court controversially approved the procedure, ruling that the use of new technology to save the child’s life was justified. The ruling has a number of implications. First, it is significant that the rights of a fully developed human being were weighed against the rights of an embryo. The rights of a child currently suffering from anemia were valued over the rights of a customized baby who is still an embryo. However, what happens if a customized baby develops into an individual, develops its own identity and thoughts, and claims rights to its own body? Can a life be ended simply because it was born as a customized baby, even if both are the same individual? As a customized baby grows into an individual, it will develop survival instincts and a sense of self. However, taking away vital organs and life because it was born as a customized baby would be a clear case of murder that violates the dignity of life. On a more extreme note, it may one day be possible to replace the organs of children with rare or genetic diseases, such as the bone marrow and spinal cord, that are necessary for treatment and are difficult to transplant, with the organs of personalized babies. Furthermore, the increasing use of this type of technology could one day lead to a grim future of a “human parts” society, where people could use these technologies to replace their own organs even in the absence of a serious life threat.
Next, consider the case of the customized baby, which is an attempt to genetically modify a person on a large scale, beyond replacing a single gene that causes a disease. In this case, we’re not just changing one person’s traits, we’re replacing one person with another, which means that beyond just preventing and treating diseases, we’re also entering the realm of parental control over physical features like skin and hair. In fact, Harvard University is discussing a second genome project, and scientists are already free to synthesize human DNA fragments. Of course, it can be beneficial for babies to be born with traits that are better suited for survival in the modern world. However, there is no right for another human being to replace the entirety of a human being’s characteristics simply because it is more suitable or advantageous for survival. The dignity of the creation of life is something that should be respected in and of itself, not interfered with by others, and we have seen the worst of what happens when others intervene in the creation of life. The Nazis’ eugenics, which led them to suppress the human rights of others and commit atrocities in the belief that Aryan-type humans were the best kind of human. Of course, the likelihood of such an extreme situation occurring in the modern world is extremely small. However, if we consider that the genes that an individual carries are also rights that an individual has, then the creation of these customized babies is also likely to be a violation of rights.
We have seen the havoc that genetically engineered creatures have wreaked on nature. Just as genetically engineered crops to increase yields have created super weeds, they have either failed to adapt to their environment and become extinct, or they have spiraled out of control and upset the balance. If we were to tamper with human genes, which are not yet fully understood, in a modification of their natural state, even in creatures that have already conquered DNA base pairs and can manipulate their genes to suit their purposes, we would be making a choice that would upend the entire human gene pool, which has been evolving in the direction of survival of the fittest, and the chaos that would ensue could neither be anticipated nor accounted for.
I’ve been thinking about the discussions and opinions about personalized babies in the above article. The technology to create personalized babies is still evolving and will require a lot of discussion and consensus. We all deserve to live happier and healthier lives, and the technology to create personalized babies could be the key to making that happen. However, if the application of personalized baby technology goes beyond the concept of preventing and treating upcoming diseases and violates the rights of others, it will become another form of violence in the name of science and technology. Therefore, as always, we must continue to consider the scope and bioethics of personalized babies.
