Thanks to technological advances in genetic engineering, parents now have the option to modify and select specific genes that their potential baby will inherit, allowing them to design the “perfect” baby. As of now, fertility doctors have aided thousands of parents in selecting their baby’s sex and certain physical characteristics ranging from hair to eye color through a process called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PDG). Scientists around the world are now discussing the moral aspect of experimenting and modifying unborn human life and whether or not genetically modifying babies should be legal. Few people realize the potential dangers involved with genetically altering the human genome and parents should love their children no matter how they end up looking.

Imagine you are one of the many genetically engineered kids in a classroom. How will you feel if you looked to your right and left and you see that everyone looks the same, speaks the same, thinks the same and has the same capacity as you? That’s how our generation’s children will feel if parents are allowed to pick only the most desirable features for their children through genetic engineering. Cultures will slowly begin to fade as the entire human race elects to discard their ancestor’s genetics and opt for the more glamorous and trendy genes. There will be no such thing as special talents, hopes, dreams or imagination if scientists advance their technology once again in order to alter non-appearance based genes. Having genetically modified babies will tarnish our ability to call ourselves a diverse society.

“Genetically engineering babies sounds like something [out of] a sci-fi novel or like a video game, where you customize a character. With that being said, this is life[,] which is far from being a novel or game. I don’t think modifying babies is a good thing to do because if people were customized, life will be boring. Having flaws and different features is what makes everyone beautiful, unique and interesting,” freshman Michelle Espinoza said.

For some people, genetically modifying these babies to fulfill their parents’ and society’s wishes is the best choice for the future. They believe that we should choose how our future generations are going to look like and what they are going to be capable of if we were given the choice. The people who are for the advancement of this practice say that if we are able to create the perfect babies with this method. We will be able to pass down the perfect genes which would lead us to having the most powerful society ever; one that is immune to previously incurable diseases and would not need to be vaccinated. Doctors would also be able to correct birth defects while the baby is still an embryo in order to aide it in having a normal and happy life without suffering from defects.

Nonetheless, this process of creating a “designer baby” can’t guarantee anything. In fact, genetically altering these babies may beget more difficulties when dealing with health and genes. If the process is not done carefully, the embryo could be obliterated on accident. People think that by using this process, perfect genes will continue to be carried down, but in reality there’s a possibility that genetically modifying the babies can negatively affect the gene pool. This could cause difficulties later on throughout the baby’s family tree. Since it is very expensive to design your perfect babies, only certain families will be able to pay for this process. This can create a gap in society which will lead us to having two social classes: designer baby and non-designer baby. Having these two social classes may foment prejudice between designer and non-designer children. The non-designer children will have to deal with self esteem and bullying issues since they aren’t the “optimum” race.

“Since I am a religious person, I believe God makes you before you’re in your mother’s womb and that you are beautiful in his eyes. With genetic engineered babies it’s like making a character in a video game, you pick everything perfect and in today’s society everyone one wants perfect. But the thing about perfection is that it doesn’t exist. I also believe since mankind is making this process there is probably a consequence that the baby may end up with disorders, or may not live a long life,” freshman Elisama Ramos said.

The movement of modifying future generations in order to seek perfection seems ridiculous because in reality perfection is perception. The consequences that come with altering many lives is definitely not worth paying thousands of dollars. It’s very inhuman to create a “perfect” baby that has altered genes from its parents. Instead of wasting money on a baby that has none of your genes, parents should learn how to love and accept their children regardless of any “imperfections”.