Designer Shoes, Bags, and Babies
by Kistal Gordon

If you wanted something unique to wear at a wedding you could always go to a fashion designer and have a custom-designed outfit. If you want special looking sneakers, Nike has ways for anyone to custom design their shoes. Now science has made it possible to manipulate DNA and genetics so that parents can choose how their children will look before they even are born; a custom-designed baby.

Does this go against nature? Well, that is a question of morality to ask yourself. We cannot deny, however, that science has come a long way from the days when the planet was believed to be “flat” to now, in the 21st century, because of science we know that we can sail around the world without falling off the face of the earth.

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), is a technique that has made it possible that in the near future parents will be able to choose the gender, hair color and skin quality of their children before they are born. PGD was not formulated specifically designed for DNA cosmetic manipulation; it was originally developed for preventing harmful hereditary disease in children.

One thing leads to another, and now we have the same procedure to prevent shortness, acne and pale skin. In a recent survey that was given about PGD, some respondents said that they would want PGD to make their children have great athletic ability, superior intelligence and improved height.

PGD however is not an easy process to do. Eggs and sperm are fertilized in a dish creating numerous embryos. Then only a single cell is removed from each embryo and tested for biomarkers associated with what ever the choice of trait the parents want in the child. After that is done the embryos with biomarkers are the only ones placed in the womb. Doing this will almost guarantee the possibilities of the chosen traits the parents wanted. Many physicians who work with PGD are debating on the type of usage for the technique, whether for cosmetic procedures or disease prevention purposes.