Is the concept of designer babies ethical?

[Sucheta]

In this advance age of genetic engineering when we talk about eliminating diseases at the very root level, why not go for designer babies?
When we keep experimenting on plants to evolve better disease resistant higher producing varieties, why is unethical to think about creating better human beings who have higher potential in terms of intelligence and disease resistance.

[mehdi71000]

i think we have been given tools by god to modify this world ,like bulding houses from stones. but i dont think its good to mess with god creations too much. maby for the sake of curing desises we should but its maby part of evolution that we should change our self. i meat the intelegent brain has gained us thease technologies. but we are still capable of doing crimes and thats wrong.but in futer theres no stopping it.its nice to being capale to change our self once every often . i mean its only superfishal. i think its more the changes we make on what makes us humans that we need to be cosiderd. like atetudes and choises. like to change you from a bad persion to a good persion is good. but from good to bad to lets say use you as a super efitiant killing machine soldier is wrong. there must be new laws interduced and new genetic courts. but laws should be delt with fairly and have high uptodate intelegence behind them. me i welcome human engneering and i like to have eyes like an eagle so i can see very far.

[dipjyoti]

All is depend upon the Bio-ethics.
"designer baby" depends on the ethics of human experimentation. Modern Bio-ethical codes such as the Declaration of Helsinki condemn experiments on humans that are unnecessary, dangerous, or without the subjects’ consent. A report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) voices these concerns in the context of inheritable genetic modification, concluding that this technology "cannot presently be carried out safely and responsibly on human beings" and that "pressing moral concerns" have not yet been addressed.

Most opponents of this technology refer to its possible social implications, distinguishing between genetic modifications used to treat persons with disabilities or diseases and those used to enhance healthy persons. They are particularly wary of this technology’s ability to lead to a new eugenics where individuals are "bred" or designed to suit social preferences such as above average height, certain hair color, increased intelligence, or greater memory. While the prospect of future generations of overall better people is not necessarily negative within itself, concern rather arises from the possibility that such groups of people might become prejudiced against one another due to a feeling of lost common humanity with non-enhanced or differently-enhanced groups.

More details may be found at
http://www.tecsoc.org/biotech/focusbabies.htm

Thank You
Dip Jyoti Chakraborty