Scientists and philosophers have long pondered the ethical implications of creating so-called ‘designer babies’. Today, the ability to choose certain genetic traits has, in many cases, become a reality through preimplantation genetic diagnosis – a medical procedure that, when used alongside in vitro fertilisation, allows parents to test embryos and select those without an undesired genetic condition.
For diseases such as polycystic kidney disease or cystic fibrosis, which can cause severe complications and early death, this decision may seem relatively straightforward. However, as this TED-Ed short explores, the ethics of such interventions become far more complex when, for instance, deaf parents wish to select for a deaf child, believing they are best equipped to raise someone who shares their culture. Created with support from Raye Ploeger, a graduate student in philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this video draws on the work of prominent philosophers to pose provocative questions about when, if ever, it’s ethical to weigh rolls of the genetic dice.
