Biotechnology and Ethical Issues

Biotechnology and ethical issues are inextricably linked and are one of the inevitable paths for the development of biotechnology. Let's take a closer look at one specific example of this issue, the recently discussed "designer babies.

What is a Designer Baby?

Do you know what a designer baby is? Designer babies are babies born by genetically manipulating a fertilized human egg to make it resistant to certain diseases or to change its appearance or intelligence. Designer babies are babies that have been born by genetically engineering a fertilized human egg to make it resistant to certain diseases, or to change its appearance or intelligence. Originally, the main purpose of genetic engineering was to eliminate genetic diseases. However, the purpose of satisfying the desire of parents to improve the appearance and intelligence of their children has also been discussed. Designer babies have been featured in science fiction movies and have been an unrealistic existence until now, but recent technological developments have made it possible.

The world's first designer baby

Finally, in the winter of 2018, former Vice Professor Jiankui Fu of China's Southern University of Science and Technology (Shenzhen, Guangdong Province) announced the birth of identical twin designer babies, Lulu and Nana. This was widely criticized at home and abroad as being ethically problematic. Fu claims that the reason for this is to make them resistant to the HIV virus. However, the fact that he went to the trouble of genetically modifying the virus to make it resistant was questioned. The Shenzhen court ruled that he "intentionally broke the rules of national scientific research and medical treatment, and exceeded the limits of ethics and morality. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

On Designer Babies

David Baltimore, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, chaired the second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, which was held shortly after the announcement of the birth of the designer baby.

"What Gaga has done is not in line with the guidelines of the NAS (National Academy of Sciences), which called for responsible behavior around genome editing.

Ka's study also includes an experimental document dated March 2017, which shows that the NAS is "cautiously in favor of designer babies only if they are carried out under safe and tightly controlled conditions. This was just one month after the date when the NAS revealed its "cautious approval" of the project. It must have come as a bolt from the blue to researchers around the world.

Advantages and disadvantages of designer babies

Designer babies are considered to be ethically problematic, but they also have many benefits.

• It can reduce the risk of genetic diseases.
• You can change your appearance and abilities as you wish.
• Organ transplant donors and special blood types can be transfused between siblings. (Savior Brothers)
• If you have the ability, it will be beneficial to the baby.
• It is also beneficial to society.

Nevertheless, there are still numerous disadvantages, including ethical issues.

• Discrimination occurs when children with disabilities are discriminated against and designer babies are given preferential treatment.
• The gap between the rich and the poor will widen the gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not.
• They ignore children's opinions and human rights.
• Human dignity is lost.

With these points in mind, the discussion of designer babies needs to be approached with caution.

Designer babies have finally become a reality. Considering the safety and bioethics, we should be more cautious about this kind of behavior. Maybe in the future, designer babies will be very common. How will our ideas of what is human and what is ethical change in the future? It will be interesting to see how our ideas of what is human and what is ethical will shift in the future.