Most people wish for their babies to be happy, healthy, and adorable.

However, what if you had the chance to personally pick out your child's traits including gender, health, eye color, hair color, and maybe even athleticism? It's just like picking up a catalog and choosing the best color and interior for a car, scary, right? While most of these options are actually impossible, scientists are conducting the study and debating the topic of designer babies that suggest the idea of genetically engineered embryos and originally came from the first in vitro fertilization in 1978. The process of designer babies can be applied to society using the pros and the cons and it's affects it has on the future. Whether it's a go or a no-go is yet still up to the world's debate in finding the rights and wrongs of this procedure.

Picture the worlds most perfect, beautiful baby. Now multiply that by a few billion. In the future, designer babies may be the most common person in the world, depending on if scientists carry through and find out what they can do to provide this option for pregnancy. The main reasons people would benefit from the process of "designer babies" is mainly to make the child healthy, beautiful / handsome, and to change or control the gender. Any parent in the world would wish for their child to be healthy and have a low risk for a disease and with the process of designing or searching for the right gene combinations, the possibility to remove them may soon be an option and come with a price. Another way to attack and destroy genetic disorders is by a process called germline therapy in which the gene is manipulated and added to the cells. This has only been tested on animals, but if it is found safe and effective, the adding of a gene could be expressed in the baby's phenotype and remove the disorder beforehand. Beneficial to the process of designing a baby could as well be to increase the beauty or handsomeness of thr child for future references. According to many people around the world, the looks of their child is very important especially if those of the parents are not on the attractive side. Children

can benefit from this changing of attractiveness because in their future they will have an easier time finding a partner according to Elkhan Jabarov - a student of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Parents that focused on their child's love life can majorly benefit from the manipulation of their unattractive genes in order to give an easier path to looking for love, however, of course, this process is still impossible and still very illegal in some parts of the world. Lastly out of a list of benefits from designer babies is the option of the 50/50 chance of a boy or a girl. The pickier the parent, the more the precise. When it comes to the gender of a baby, the gamble is half and half. Some parents strongly prefer one or the other, while others wait until the day of to find out. Especially in countries like China who have more of a growing than decreasing population, new parents strive to have a baby boy in order to pass on the family name, and decrease the chances at another child. Some families even take it upon themselves to get rid of their baby boy in hopes that the next will be a girl. To save little (unwanted) girls from being sent away, families that are forced to rid their girl can choose to specifically select a boy for the designer baby process. This process is so far the most realistic out of all the options since it consists of removing either an X or a Y chromosome when other procedures are much more difficult with amount of traits required.

The list of disadvantages for designer babies is if not just long, than longer than the list of benefits. Scientists and the government are encouraging debate between whether it's right or wrong all because of the strong list of disadvantages the process and effects designer babies have on society. The disadvantages range from ethical issues and health risks to financial disparity and misuse along with screening alteration. The cultural diversion in the world is at an all time high, but if the idea of designing the perfect baby is successful and becomes the most common "type" of person, the the ethical value of the country will decrease to somewhat of a robot like community. Depending on what's

possible or not in the different selections of traits, some people might take the advantage of designing their baby to the next level by even changing the skin tone of their future child. If this happens, the diversity between humans on earth would soon become rare. Another disadvantage to this controversial topic is the most critical concern; the health risks. These health risks include the possibility that new diseases may evolve and be introduced into the human race. "Due to the decreased gene pool, only partial evolution would be able to occur and therefor we will more susceptible to new diseases having a dramatic effect"(Sims, Science Brainwaves). Financial disparity has a lot to do with this topic because of the obvious need of an expensive procedure. However scientists plan to test their new expirements, it will take a lot of time and a pricey cost due to procedure expenses. Due to an expense rate, the spacing between the rich and the poor will increase when the rich will only become more wealthy. If scientists take designer babies to the extent of increasing intellgence, the higher paid will only go up higher and higher, while the lower paid will only decrease to continue being less fortunate. Another disadvantage to the becoming idea of de singer babies is the possibility for misuse along with screening alteration. If the procedure to test the concept of designer baby would go wrong, that's costs a whole handicapped life ahead for a child who was not even supposed to have health problems, along with a major suing of the doctor or scientist attempting to run the concept. With the pros and cons added together, the analysis of designing a baby can be very controversial. It's what comes down to the child's future, that is the most important detail.

As the next generation is appearing on the earth day by day, the worlds goal is to encourage, teach, and ready them for their life ahead. With consideration of the effects of designer babies, the world is opened up to a possibility to a new way of life. Given the opportunity, who would willingly choose the traits of their future child? Regardless of

numbers, first things first, is this even safe? While scientists are still debating on whether or not they should start the research and experiments, the world is still on its heels when debating the topic of "Designer Babies". With the pros and cons at hand, the largest concern is the effects of the future. What will the generation of all genetically engineered children look and act like, but how will they mix with those of who are born normally, without any alterations? How will their children be born, designed or like their parents, chosen? The worlds concern is about what is best. If what's best is picking and choosing your child's traits so they're garaunteed perfect, what must be considered is how they're going to handle they're traits and what they have and do not have of their parents. In future generations, will children even look like their ancestors? Depending on what scientists are able to conduct, parents may soon have the option to choose their child's gender, health and if it comes to it, maybe even physical and mental traits. To the world, there are two different opinions; this is a terrible, un-godly decision, or this is a wonderful opportunity. It can be looked at as if the parents are "playing God", which means that they're taking on a role of choosing their child's traits without letting the child grow naturally. The opportunity view of it may be looked at as how children can have the perfect physical life and even benefit from a good health.

If you had the chance to personally choose your child's traits, would you? The final debate on whether or not people should be able to design their babies is feuding all across the globe and it's time people take a look at the advantages and disadvantages. The effects on society of this booming concept is changing the world's point of view on how the people can begin at birth by creating someone who is perfect, and garaunteed a healthy life. Are we ready to take on a challenge?