Blog 17

A survey was conducted to view the opinions of young people on the topic of “Designer Babies.” This author is making an argument that the opinions of the public should be taken into major consideration with technological advancements. Throughout the survey process, the young participants became more educated about the subject through video clips, newspaper articles, and a series of speakers. Rachel Iredale is shown as a reliable source. On the first page, the article mentions that Iredale is a senior lecturer at the School of Care Sciences. This gives an assurance to the audience that Iredale is providing a justifiable procedure for the conducted survey. “The Citizens Jury was divided into three stages, relating to three of the main potential uses of the technology: (1) to prevent inherited diseases, (2) to save the life of an existing child with a serious medical condition (saviour siblings), and (3) for non-medical reasons such as sex selection” (Iredale 211). This quote lays out how the survey goes into depth with this controversial issue, rather than simply asking the participants “Are Designer Babies a good or bad idea”. The first two of these potential uses instantly creates for a positive application to humanity, but there could be some possible questioning when it comes to the third use. This quote also shows a possible need for checks and balances with technological advancements. Although the results are not shown within this quote, the audience is able to pick up the differences between the uses. Preventing inherited diseases and saving the life of an existing child are far higher priorities than changing the sex of the baby.