Young Writers Society

They are talking about genetically engineering children with defects so that their parents can have children that look like them. This specific example is to give children the parents' dwarfism.

Here is the full-text:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16299656/

How very freakish...

This is really just another example of people having "designer" babies. They're picking out the qualities that make the child appealing to them. Personally, I believe that you should cast your kid's genetic lot in life and leave it to them. Parents need to remember that they should love their child for reasons other than looks or other physical qualities like dwarfism or deafness.
Deaf parents wanting to have a deaf child are taking away that child's opportunities before it's even born. I have a hearing friend whose dad is deaf; my friend is able to communicate fully with the hearing world and with the deaf one. He can't share how deaf people feel about being deaf or partially deaf, but he's still part of the culture as a result of communicating with his dad, going to events in ASL, and attending a deaf church.
Medical technology should be used to avoid things like Down's Syndrome or fatal birth defects, but beyond that, a child's life should not be altered. If parents and doctors believe that it's okay to map out specific physical qualities of their child, "designer" babies or not, they just want to play God. This isn't the Sims, it's someone's life. Leave it to biology.

I totally agree. I ranted about this for like three hours yesterday before I posted it, so I won't repeat the entire rant. But my stance on it is basically this [as bias as it sounds, and using this specific example]: There are so many medical problems that are associated with dwarfism, other than just being 'little', that really become a big part of the life of those affected by dwarfism. I don't get how parents could want their children to go through all the problems [which I also ranted on, but will not go into detail in this] that they will inevitably face if they are afflicted with dwarfism. Why/How could you willingly wish pain upon your child just so they will look like you? That's ridiculous. It's an ethics problem here.

I mean seriously. Watch Little People, Big World occasionally--anyone who is for this will quickely change their opinion when they hear of the medical issues that the parents and the one child they have that are affected by dwarfism. And has anyone seen Gattica? Really...this messing with genetics crap has got to stop.

End of rant.

I don't see how this is a tough subject for people.

The answer is it's not right, plain and simple. I can't even imagine how someone could be so selfish as to even consider doing this to a child.

Amen! Gah! Ugh....*resists the urge to rant for another three hours*

Well, I sympathize with parents who are affected by certain conditions. My main reason for opposition to genetic alterations is that we aren't meant to do it. Chance determines our genetic makeup, and it's that way for a reason. It's the way nature intended it to be.
It might be selfish for parents to want their children to be physically like them, but things other than looks are pushed on children. We usually impress upon our children our language and culture, religion or moral code, political ideals, likes, dislikes, tastes in clothing or food. Parents naturally want their children to be like them; it's the instinctual Darwinian need to pass on one's genes.
Still, a parent should not deny their children the life that they will receive from due process of nature. If the child is deaf or a dwarf, so be it. That's the way things happened. The child will still have many other qualities of the parents; the genes are still there and the language and lifestyle of the parents will become the child's.
If the child is what we call "normal", the parents should realize that there is another primitive law at work; the need to improve with the next generation.

Colleen

Lets add this, with a twist!

What about non-genetic disorders?
Such as making someone immune to all diseases, a heart with the power of an oxen's, and a very smart mind?

Have you ever read Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress? Genetics is something humans should study, and messing around with genes is awfully dangerous.

That's just... Wrong. Parents shouldn't have the right to impose defects on their children that their children would not otherwise have. Good parents want what's good for their children, not what makes themselves feel more "normal" or whatever. I'd even say that people who do want their babies to "look like them" aren't mature enough to be good parents at all.