In this blog post, we take an in-depth look at the ethical issues and social implications of designer babies born through genetic engineering, as well as the future we will face.
On October 29, 2000, a test-tube baby named Adam Nash was born in Colorado, USA. The embryo implanted in Mrs. Nash’s womb was found to have no genetic defects that cause Fanconi anemia through pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and had the same constitution as his sister. Molly, Adam’s older sister, had an 85-90% chance of recovery if she received a blood transfusion from Adam’s umbilical cord, doubling her life expectancy from eight years to 16. Adam’s birth seemed like a win-win solution that would save his sister’s life and allow his parents to have a healthy child. However, the birth of this child sparked a debate on bioethics. This is because Adam was “designed” by his parents through genetic selection.
The term “designer baby” has moved beyond science fiction movies and web blogs and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2004. It is defined as “a baby born after selecting or creating a normal embryo with specific genetic traits through genetic engineering and in vitro fertilization.” In Korean, it can be called “맞춤아기” (custom baby), which literally means babies born by artificially selecting genetic information according to the parents’ wishes. Adam was the world’s first custom baby, and since his success, many more custom babies have been born.
The birth of custom babies was made possible by the development of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) technology. PGD technology is used in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF) to diagnose genetic or chromosomal disorders in early embryos created through in vitro fertilization before implantation. This technology has made it possible for the first time to select or discard embryos before pregnancy based on genetic defects. Currently, preimplantation diagnosis can be used to select embryos or embryos that do not carry genes that cause genetic diseases, and parents can also select the sex of their child if they are carriers of sex-linked diseases. In addition, in cases where babies are born for the purpose of becoming donors for family members (usually siblings) with fatal incurable diseases, preimplantation genetic diagnosis is also performed to select embryos with compatible blood and bone marrow. Through this decision-making process, healthy fertilized eggs are implanted into the uterus, resulting in the birth of genetically customized babies desired by their parents.
According to a survey conducted by the Center for Genetics and Public Policy in the United States, 61% of 4,005 respondents supported the use of PGD technology to help sick siblings. In addition, although British Conservative Party member Edward Lee and others proposed a ban on designer babies, the proposal was rejected by an overwhelming margin of 342 votes to 163, and the birth of designer babies was legalized. Finally, in 2008, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK’s medical ethics watchdog, allowed the birth of “designer babies” to treat siblings with incurable diseases. These cases show that many people consider the birth of designer babies desirable and support the use of this technology.
However, designer baby technology does not only have advantages. In the sense that they are born to save a family member, designer babies can be seen as the result of the commodification of life. Dr. Vivienne Nathanson, director of the Bioethics Policy Team at the British Medical Association, said of Adam Nash’s birth, “Of course, we can sympathize with the family, but we must also consider the second child (the baby born to save his sibling). I am concerned that this child will be treated as a commodity rather than a human being.” In short, this child is not the fruit of his parents’ love, but a tool created to treat other family members, and can be considered no different from a slave who contributes his body.
Designer babies born for the purpose of saving the lives of their families must live with the burden of sacrificing themselves for their families from the moment they are born. These children have no choice but to contribute their bodies according to their families’ expectations from the moment they are born. If these babies, who are forced to play the role of donors, refuse their families’ demands, they will be labeled selfish by everyone. If they try to protect themselves, they will lose their family, and if they try to protect their family, they will lose their right to their own health and body. It is very cruel to make a young child make such a difficult decision. Furthermore, if they realize that they were born to save the life of another person, will they be able to feel that their existence has true meaning? From the moment they are born, these babies may believe that their only reason for existing is to save their family. And if their family had not contracted an incurable disease, they may think that they would not exist. Therefore, the child will be under tremendous stress and will not be able to live a normal life. Many people tend to focus only on the patient, but they can fall into the trap of ignoring the feelings of the donor, the custom-made baby. However, we must respect the future of that child as well.
There are also several problems with PGD technology. In order to select one or two embryos suitable for implantation, multiple ovulation is usually induced artificially, and the resulting fertilized eggs undergo genetic testing. The genetically undesirable and unselected fertilized eggs are then discarded, and the discarding of embryos that could become new life forms may lead to a disregard for life. Furthermore, PGD technology is not yet mature, so there is a possibility of errors occurring during the cultivation of fertilized eggs. At this point, unhealthy embryos will also be discarded. According to statistics released by the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago, only 35 designer babies were born from a total of 1,130 embryos, with a production efficiency of only 1.15%. These figures show that PGD technology results in a significant loss of life.
Another reason is that although the current technology for designing babies is only used for medical purposes, there is a risk that it will be misused or abused in the future. In 2009, the Fertility Institutes Clinic in the US offered prospective parents the opportunity to choose the color of their child’s eyes, hair, and skin through “cosmetic medicine,” but the service was discontinued due to public criticism. However, despite widespread criticism, there may be institutions that relaunch this service in order to reap huge financial gains. If customized baby technology becomes commercialized, people will feel anxiety due to intangible social pressure, and an era of genetic manipulation of children will dawn. Due to the high cost of applying this technology, only the wealthy will be able to enjoy the benefits of commercialized services. While the wealthy will be able to genetically enhance their offspring through genetic engineering, the low-income class, who are struggling to make ends meet, will have no choice but to follow nature’s will. Genetically enhanced children of the wealthy will have superior genes from the moment they are born, giving them a head start over their less privileged peers who have not received the same social reinforcement. As a result, it will become difficult for the low-income class to surpass the wealthy in terms of social status, and the gap between the rich and the poor will widen.
Furthermore, genetic engineering will reduce human genetic diversity. If parents can genetically engineer their children, they will naturally choose genes that are advantageous to their children, and over time, it can be expected that people will have similar genes. Although the ideal “perfect child” may differ depending on the parents, there will inevitably be some genes that will disappear in the process of genetic engineering. This will narrow the gene pool, making it difficult to adapt and survive in an ever-changing environment. According to evolutionary theory, a species must preserve genetic diversity in order to survive in the long term, and if genetic diversity is lost, the species will be threatened with extinction. Creating designer babies to satisfy the desires of parents could ultimately lead to the extinction of the human race.
Genetic engineering technology has the advantage of giving people the opportunity to have healthy children or save family members with incurable diseases, but it also has the potential to violate bioethical principles and human rights. Customized babies are seen as tools for saving the lives of families, not as human beings, and the two problems of disregarding the baby cannot be ignored. Furthermore, as discussed above, we should not take lightly the fact that genetic engineering could widen the gap between the rich and the poor, which is already a social problem. Scientific advances can bring many benefits to humanity, but they can also cause serious problems if misused. Therefore, we must carefully consider the use of science and technology, especially technologies related to babies, such as custom-made babies, before allowing them.
