If I could modify my child’s genes in such a way to protect them against genetic diseases, or to enhance their abilities, I don’t think I would do it. Though it seems like a great idea, protecting them from maybe developing hereditary problems like mental illness or migraines or cancer, there is still so much about genes and how they work that we don’t understand. You might actually reduce their resistance to viruses or increase the likelihood of developing non-genetic diseases that are just as fatal. If you changed the genes to enhance abilities, you might increase the likelihood that they develop genetic disorders. You might increase the likelihood that they would be prone to other diseases or viruses. Also, in addition to all these problems, there are two other big reasons I wouldn’t do it – compatibility and evolution.
If I changed my child’s genes I might make them genetically incompatible with other people who aren’t modified. This genetic incompatibility might mean that my child could never have children. Or, if they did have children, their children might have genetic problems because their genes are different.
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Another reason not to change my child’s genes is evolution. If I change my child’s genes but the rest of their body – like their muscles or organs or central nervous system – hasn’t adapted along the same natural path, my child runs the risk of having all sorts of problems. Evolution allows organisms to develop in such a way that everything continues to work together and can transition at similar rates together so the changes aren’t traumatic or dangerous. And there is a lot of research that suggests that things that we consider problems with genes, like migraines, are actually survival mechanisms left in place by the evolutionary process to protect us.
So while we may be impatient for super strength or super eyesight or avoiding certain genetic disorders, we might be doing ourselves or our children a disservice by changing the genes. It seems safer to let things progress naturally.
