GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

What if you could choose the type of child born to you? In other words, imagine inserting certain qualities into an embryo, such as athletic ability or intelligence. It sounds pretty amazing in theory, (if you are into the Sci-Fi Network), but personally, the Gorilla finds this idea to be not only immoral, but just plain creepy.  For the first time ever, scientists have altered a human embryo, and the study is drawing a lot of controversy from some watchdog groups around the world. The groups claim that the practice of making “designer babies” is both appalling and unsettling. But Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, who is the director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at New York- Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, says that “none of us want to make designer babies.” Dr. Rosenwak is the author of the study and says that the work was focused on stem cells and notes that researchers used an abnormal embryo that could never have developed into a baby anyway. It is a nice argument, but the Gorilla must ask, do some of these researchers enjoy playing God?  The idea of designer babies is certainly not a new one, and the thought is that someday scientists may give parents the option of certain traits for their future child or children. Many people (including the Gorilla), find this idea repugnant, claiming that it turns children into some kind of “designer objects” and would create an “unequal” society, whereby some people are genetically enriched, while others would be considered inferior. Yes, it sounds very futuristic and cool if this was a movie, but in the real world, it could be a dangerous prospect! The study is the first report of genetically modifying a human embryo, but when it was presented last fall at a meeting for the American Society for reproductive medicine, it didn’t attract that much attention or controversy- until the London times recently published the report. The report claims that Rosenwaks and his colleagues worked on an embryo that was considered nonviable because it had extra chromosomes. Following a procedure frequently used on animals, they inserted a gene that acts as a marker that can easily be followed over time. The study claims that the embryo reportedly “took up” the gene. The goal was to see if a gene introduced to an abnormal embryo could be traced in stem cells that are harvested from the embryo. Dr. Rosenwaks says that it would shed light on why abnormal embryos sometimes fail to develop. He also says that no stem cells were actually recovered from the embryo, and noted that abnormal embryos often don’t develop well enough to produce them. Although making designer babies was not the actual “intent” of the study, it still draws controversy because of the fact that it shows that it is possible to do so, which is disturbing in the Gorilla’s mind. It seems that these scientists were experimenting with techniques that others might use to genetically modify human lives, and they are getting away with it with little debate thus far.  A London-based group called Human Genetics Alert similarly criticized the work. 

Hey, the Gorilla is for any research that can help potentially find and correct genetic defects, but that being said, there are lines that need not be crossed when it comes to altering creation. Others may disagree, and everyone is entitled to do so, but at what point is crossing the lines of science morally unacceptable?