Should we look forward to designer babies?

Some people recoil in horror at the thought of designer babies, ones genetically altered to incorporate sought-after traits when they are born. The rhetoric talks of the ‘insolence’ of ‘playing God’ instead of letting nature take its course. The case against seems to be one of allowing every fertilized ovum that attaches to a placenta to be born with the genes it acquired from its parents instead of having them altered.

If parents were given a choice of traits their newborn might arrive with, they might choose clever, more talented ones, creating a gulf between those who were selected for a greater chance of success in life and those who were not. The gulf might be between those programmed by parents and those programmed by chance.

 We started playing God long ago when we started using modern methods to save the lives of the 50 percent of children who died in infancy and the huge numbers of mothers who died in childbirth. One could argue that gene editing simply pushes our intervention back earlier. It could be used to eliminate inherited conditions, such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia, thereby reducing suffering and improving the quality of life.

 It could eliminate the genetic traits that lead to life-shortening conditions, and could be used to enhance resistance to diseases. The Treasury bean counters might spot that pre-emptive genetic intervention could reduce the long-term costs associated with treating chronic genetic diseases.

 Going beyond the elimination of inherited diseases and life-threatening conditions, gene editing might be used to enable parents to choose enhanced physical and mental traits. It has the potential to enhance desirable traits like intelligence, physical strength, or resistance to diseases, potentially creating healthier and more capable individuals.

 Further than that, parents might choose to have babies with specialized talents in areas like music and mathematics. They might wish to enhance the good looks of their offspring. Producing higher quality and more talented individuals could lead to breakthroughs in scientific research and innovation, potentially benefiting society in broader applications.

 If intervention of this nature gives us human beings who are better physically and mentally, the case is very strong that it will lead to a much better world for everyone.