The Genetic Code: A Way to Create Your Own Child

When you hear the word "choice", you most likely relate it to the idea that you, as an individual, have the option to pick something you want from a variety of options. Picking out what clothes you want to wear, deciding on what you want to drink at a restaurant, or picking a new computer you would like to buy, all deal with the concept of choice. But, have you ever thought about what you would do if you could choose the characteristics that make up your own child? It may be easy to pick water over soda at a restaurant, but what about being able to choose your baby's eye color, hair color, and height, all before the baby is even born? Now the concept of choice becomes a bit more daunting, given the fact that you are setting the stage for your child's life, based around the choices that you make.

But how is this possible, or even realistic? Childbirth has always been known as a natural process, where the parents only find out the sex of the baby before birth, with the rest of the processing being left in God's hands. Well in the near future, the idea of creating a child might not be left up to God anymore, but rather, to a scientist sitting in a laboratory. Thanks to the Human Genome Project, the genetic code, which is responsible for the make-up of every single human being on Earth, is near completion. It is believed that it is 92% complete at this time, and once that number reaches 100%, scientists are going to basically have a blueprint to the human body, displaying every gene that comprises each and every one of us.

So what does this mean for the world of children and childbirth? Well, scientists are going to have the knowledge of what genes correspond to certain human characteristics, which will allow parents to actually "construct" their very own version of the perfect child. Not only will they be able to pick physical characteristics, but they might even have the capability of choosing if their child will have a bad temper, or if they will favor or oppose something such as the death penalty. Every specific thought and trait has a corresponding gene that makes it prevalent, and with the knowledge of what those genes are, scientists will be able to manipulate them to be something different, mainly by using the "genetic blueprint" as a virtual parts list.

Even though the possibility is there to manipulate the genes of an unborn child to it's parents' liking, there are some genes that can still make their way into your child that simply cannot be avoided. Take for example, HPC1, which is the gene for Prostate Cancer. A family can have a history of Prostate Cancer in their genes, but there is no way to prevent your child from inheriting that gene. However, with the revolution of medicine that can stem from the completion of the genetic code, scientists will be able to screen for such diseases at such an early age, that they can be caught before they even develop. They will be able to pick up that gene in a child's genetic profile, and with the knowledge that the gene is present, scientists will be able to use a treatment that is unique to that individual. Different people can be treated for the same disease in different ways, all because the knowledge of each person's genetic profile will reveal slight differences that require altered treatments.

When you really think about it, the genetic code can potentially revolutionize the human species in the near future. Children will be created basically by request, diseases will be treated, rather than simply held at bay, cancer will be diagnosed before it even affects an individual, and medicines will be created per person, rather than per illness. Once the genetic code is complete, life as we know it is going to drastically change.

Sources:

"Human Genome Project". wikipedia.org

Begley, Sharon. "Decoding the Human Body".

Cowley, Geoffrey and Anne Underwood. "A Revolution in Medicine".