A New Shipment of Genetically customized babies.

The Stork will soon be making custom deliveries depending on the parents desired specifications. With the advancements in Vitro Fertilization (IVF) women will be able to choose their child just like ordering a computer from Dell. Currently your can choose gender and if you want it to be screened for diseases. The Genetic maps are used to detect over 15,000 known genetic disorders. But it is said the screenings can detect and screen for different traits as well. Companies rarely present their full abilities of genetic testing because of the controversy it causes. For example, Pope Benedict has decided to condemn “the obsessive search for the perfect child” Some companies have moral restrictions that they abide by, like only allowing parents to choose the gender of a child after their first one.

The current process of choosing gender is essentially sorting the sperm by sending them through an “obstacle course” designed to separate them by gender based on the premise that male sperm are faster than female sperm.

But imagine in the future, mothers being able to select hair color/texture, skin color, resistance to addictive behavior, athleticism, perfect eyesight, and body type. The moral dilemmas that will ensue from such options is unimaginable.

It is pretty scary, and reminds me of the book Brave New World, a required curriculum read for most high school students. In the book human reproduction becomes a factory driven process in order to produce the best offspring. Regardless it is an interesting read and it really hits on some pretty time relevant material even though it was written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley and set in the London of 2540 AD.

Article Inspired by: Popular Mechanics