Dd needs help

[DracsTroubleAndStrife]

Homework, she needs points of view

Designer Babies right or wrong

TIA

Well, tell her to start by defining 'designer babies', and then outlining different standpoints from which they might be assessed.

get her to look on the bbc website for news stories about designer babies/the various court rules etc.

court rulings, not rules. sigh. roll eyes at self.

But first she needs to set up the framework for her argument, by explaining what, for the purposes of her essay, she calls 'designer babies'.

and it's not a cut and dried argument.....one hand babies born to help other siblings compared to babies chosen for their gender .....needs to emphasise the complexities of the moral / ethical debate...

how old is she BTW - what a thought provoking topic..

We have gone in to genetics and discussed why some people would have to choose the sex of the baby.

She needs to get opinions on the rights and wrongs of the subject and include these opinions in a letter(for homework only) to a national newspaper.

Thanks

She is 14 and yes it is a very thought provoking subject.

Thanks Italianjob she will go and have a look.

Well, exactly, what is a 'designer baby'? Does the essay specify it? If not she must, or at least outline the various ways the term has been used because the moral issues are simply not the same. ie if a couple are planning to have a second or third child, and they decide to make sure that this child will have cord blood that can painlessly and effortlessly be used for a transplant to possibly save a sibling, is this this same as choosing to discard embryos on the grounds of sex or eye colour. Are you having a 'designer baby' because you already have a child dying slowly in front of your eyes of muscular dystrophy and you don't want it to happen again?
'Designer babies' is IMO a very lazy and sensationalist term for a very complex issue.

Hi I'm Dracs daughter.
I understand that people can choose to select certain things about their babies to help siblings, and that the babies can help to save the lives of brothers and sisters.

I also know that some people/cultures pick only a certain sex for the baby.

I can understand that people would choose to have the baby to save children they already have and are doing it for the right reason, I just need opinions on if you think this is right or wrong for example to have another baby for that reason?

I'm going to start writing out my essay and will check back later.

Thank you
Carrie

Hi dracsdaughter

I personally would be of the opinion having a baby to help save a sibling ( without the baby suffering or dying itself) would be ok

I personally am of the opinion that choosing the sex for no other reason than you want a girl / boy whether you have other kids or not is wrong.

But i understand the desperation and the lengths people will go to to get what they want / feel they need.

Dracsdaughter - I have just finished a book the premise of which was a 13 year old child who went to court in the States to achieve medical emancipation from her family.

Whilst it was a work of fiction it covered some very salient and interesting points to consider

A toddler was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 2. The parents genetically chose a child who's stem cells (from the umbilical cord) could be used to help the child. There was no biological interference with the child.

However the stem cells did not cure the 2 year old but merely put her into remission for 5 years so by the time she was 7 and the donor child 4 the parents had to agree to bone marrow being taken from the 4 year old

By the time she was 13 this child had had enough ... the parents now wanted a kidney from her

Set against the pain and suffering of her older sister who had lived her life in sickness the 13 year old had to decide whether she could continue to be a 'spare part factory' even though she loved her sister

so even the genetic selection of a baby to aid an already ill sibling is fraught with ethical dilemnas

sounds fascinating - what the book called?

my sister's keeper

actually whilst a very interesting concept it does not hold its promise throughout ... too many literary curves to make it softer / more palatable fiction .. romantic episodes interspersed / neat ending .. but still worth a read

thanks - and apogies to drac for the hijack....

one thing about this fictional child .. every time her sister got sick .. she ended up going to hospital to have blood taken .. it impinged on her life .. she couldn't go away to summer camp and she was even taken out of a party .. obviously her sister needed her to live .. but really where would it stop? if its ok to genetically engineer a child to cure a sibling, what if the stem cell's from umbilicus does not cure but merely puts you into remission? what if you need ongoing treatment

there was also an impact on an older sibling who felt useless ... he couldn't help his sister because he wasn't a genetic match

Thank you for your help.

TwigTwoollett we have been reading this book at school and yes it does make you think.

Thanks everyone for the input and help, Mum said it would be the best place to ask.

Thanks again
Carrie xx