Are we losing our humanity?

As much as I hate to admit it, there are some situations in which I find myself thinking “science is starting to scare me.” When new research is introduced, whether new and improved medical equipment or new vaccines for common illnesses, society in general seems to get excited. New is better, and everything can be improved. The notion of “if it can be done, it should be done” is something that also strikes fear into my heart. And the worst part is, the idea of “censoring” science, or restricting scientific research, can’t even be touched until the problem or whether or not it is ethical or right to actually discuss censorship of science. Science is, after all, a quest for knowledge. But at what cost?

Rose’s article discusses the idea that one could, in the future, completely design their child before birth – creating, in essence, a culture where choosing to have children is a task not unlike breeding the perfect dog or choosing an outfit: perfectly constructed to fit the lifestyle one would like to have, tailored exactly to the parent’s wishes. Isn’t this, in a way, slowly adding to the notion that people are beginning to lose their humanity? I feel this method is unnatural. Creating a child that will excel at a certain subject, or sport, seems as equally wrong as the world of reproduction presented in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, in which people are grown in bottles, pre-destined for life and appropriately altered so their bodies, as well as their minds, fit their assigned position in life. Is this idea of a “designer baby” really so different from this? While there seems to be a standing argument that such methods will eliminate the possibility of a child potentially inheriting a terrible genetic disease or disorder – why then are people discussing the notion of being able to choose your child’s physical appearance? This is ‘science’ that, in my opinion, could be taken way too far – and is something that cannot easily be “taken back,” once we as a society go down this path, there is no way to turn around. Is this what we truly want our world to be?