Paul Knoepfler: The ethical dilemma of designer babies
So what if I could make for you a designer baby?
What if you as a parent-to-be and I as a scientist decided to go down that road together?
What if we didn't?
What if we thought,"That's a bad idea" , but many of our family,friends and coworkers did make that decision?
Let's fast-forward just 15 years from now.
Let's pretend it's the year 2030 , and you're a parent.
You have your daughter, Marianne,next to you, and in 2030,she is what we call a natural because she has no genetic modifications.
And because you and your partner consciously made that decision, many in your social circle,they kind of look down on you.
They think you're ,like a Luddite or a technophobe.
Marianne's best friend Jenna, who lives right next door,is a very different story.
She was born a genetically modified designer baby with numerous upgrades.
Yeah, Upgrades.
And these enhancements were introduced using a new genetic modification technology that goes by the funny name CRISPR, you know , like something's crisp, this is CRISPR.
The scientist that Jenna's parents hired to do this for several million dollars introduced CRISPR into a whole panel of human embryos.
And then they used genetic testing, and they predicted that that little tiny embryo,Jenna's embryo, would be the best of the bunch.
And now, Jenna is an actual,real person.
She's sitting on the carpet in your living room playing with your daughter Marianne.
And your families have known each other for years now, and it's become very clear to you that Jenna is extrardinary.
She's incredibly intelligent.
她聪明透顶。
If you're honest with yourself , she's smarter than you, and she's five years old.
She's beautiful, tall, athletic, and the list goes on and on.
And in fact, there's a whole new generation of there GM kids like Jenna.
And so far it looks like they're healthier than their parents's generation, than your generation.
And they have lower health care costs.
They're immune to a host of health conditions, including HIV/AIDS and genetic diseases.
It all sounds so great, but you can't help but have this sort of unsettling feeling, a gut feeling, that there's something just not quite right about Jenna, and you've had the same feeling about other GM kids that you've met.
You were also reading in the newspaper earlier this week that a study of these children who were born as designer babies indicates they may have some issues, like increased aggressiveness and narcissism.
But more immediately on your mind is some news that you just got from Jenna's family.
She's so smart,she's now going to be going to a special school, a different school than your daughter Marianne, and this is kind of throwing your family into a disarray.
Marianne's been crying, and last night when you took her to bed to kiss her goodnight,she said ,"Daddy, will Jenna even be my friend anymore?"