There is expensive new technology available to those who have enough money to pay for it. It goes beyond the established IVF (in-vitro fertilization) procedures and allows people to have an unprecedented amount of control over the reproductive process. Some people refer to the resulting child as a "designer baby".
- Sexual reproduction creates genetic variation by independently sorting, randomly fertilizing, and crossing over chromosomes. Based on what you have learned, how do genetic modification variations likely differ from genetic sexual reproduction variations?
- Is the practice of genetically modifying human cells ethical? Why or why not?
- If your friend was considering genetic modification to have a child and asked for your advice, what would you tell her?