What could possibly go wrong?
The LA Fertility Institute is offering designer babies:
A US clinic has sparked controversy by offering would-be parents the chance to select traits like the eye and hair colour of their offspring.
Via Chuck, who says Gay people, Your days are numbered.
What say you?
March 4th, 2009 at 10:51 am
I say, t3h gay is a choice, and there are no shortage of fools to make bad choices or children w/ bad daddies.
Well, you did ask.
March 4th, 2009 at 11:06 am
If they found a gene that promoted religious piety, and parents could select it out for their designer baby, would it be the same kind of thing?
Gotta ask, that’s all.
On a barely-related front…once upon a time, I knew a man who described himself as former gay. He was (still is, far as I know) a hairdresser. I never knew him when he lived the gay lifestyle, but I did know him after he left it, and later when he married (a woman).
I suspect that even if genetics are at play in gay-ness, there is also an element of personal choice at work.
March 4th, 2009 at 11:22 am
No gay person I’ve ever known has ever described it as a choice, but as part of who they are.
Since most people will continue making babies the old fashioned way, there’s plenty of room for genetic variation. Gay people have been with us since ancient times and will continue to be born; It’s a recurring genetic oddity.
March 4th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Gattaca lives…
March 4th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Bad idea – diversity keeps disease/viruses at bay. A worst case scenario example: If everybody ends up with blue eyes, blonde hair and is susceptible to Virus “X”, lets all just sit around and hope that Virus “X” isn’t ever let out of the bag. This is a bad idea.
Its kind of like the parallel of capitalism & The Incredibles movie line: If everybody is special, then nobody is…
Lets let nature run its course and keep us diverse. Diversity is what keeps us all from dying from the plague etc.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Is homosexuality a genetic trait as some claim, a learned trait, a error in formation or a combination?
I would think that it is a mix with different causes in different people.
Here the idea is to select the embryo that has the combination that the prospective parents desire. The future will, probably, allow “switches” to be thrown that control the babies (er I mean fetus’s) future design without the need to dispose of other babies (I mean embryos).
If a gene (or cause of the “error”) can be changed, most heterosexual parents would tend to desire a heterosexual child.
If the cause cannot be changed (because of either science or law), but detected, then you have the possibility of China’s example where female children are aborted in favor of males.
You couldn’t outlaw that in the US with current abortion laws where a woman can pretty much have an abortion on demand.
March 4th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Might not be such a bad thing…
Can they test for a ‘sheeple’ gene yet?
March 4th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
So long as they make more redheads, I’ll be happy.
/redheads are hot
//As part of my “redhead breeding program”, I’m trying to find a redheaded guy for my redheaded female friend so they can produce more redheads for the world.
///no success yet
March 4th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Having an “x” that was a redhead, I can pretty much do without them
March 4th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
This is going to be like babies names.Whatever wins the media popularity contest at the time wii be the “thing”. AWWW GAWD, we’re in for 50000 babies that look like Obamasiah!