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Asked by Shelldon to Aaron, Abbey, Keith, Natalie, Pete on 13 Nov 2015.
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Aaron Boardley answered on 13 Nov 2015:
Personally, I am really cautious about this. It feels like a huge step that once we start doing it we’ve crossed a big piece of history. Where do you draw the line on designing features – just on choosing sex or hair colour, or height, or intellect, or sense of humour…is there a limit to the kind of change people should do?
I really like the diversity of the human race – how we’re all different, with different talents, we all look different and like different things. I worry that if we start designing babies we’ll lose that diversity if people start designing their ideas of “perfect” children.
Of course, some genetic changes might be helpful – like helping to cure disease or genetic disorders. But I think we should be cautious about how far we go in creating designer babies. That’s just my personal view.
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Natalie Garrett answered on 13 Nov 2015:
Genetic engineering is probably going to be one of the fastest growing technologies of the coming decade, and also arguably one of the most powerful. This means we will have to think very carefully about what will and won’t be allowed. Ethics will be incredibly important.
I personally think that genetic engineering isn’t a bad thing, but that it could possibly be used for bad reasons. The same could be said of a lot of technology, though. For instance, the example you gave is one that I think is unethical. I don’t think that it’s right to have ‘designer babies’ as such, but if you wanted to make sure your child didn’t inherit a genetic condition that you carry, then this would be OK.
Ultimately, where you draw the line between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable is a personal thing. We need to have more discussions in society so we can work out a general consensus on what is right and wrong with genetic engineering.
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