“Making Designer Babies is Wrong” #wait. The creation of the designer babies known as Lulu and Nana was an ethical minefield, igniting a global debate on the morality, safety, and implications of genetic engineering in humans. In 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced that he had used CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit the genes of these twin girls to confer resistance to HIV. This unprecedented intervention raised numerous ethical concerns. Firstly, there were significant issues regarding informed consent. Critics argued that the parents may not have fully understood the risks and implications of the procedure, and the future autonomy of the twins was compromised since they could not consent to the genetic modifications made to their bodies. Secondly, the scientific community was alarmed by the potential for unintended consequences. Gene editing in humans is still in its early stages, and off-target effects or unforeseen genetic interactions could lead to serious health problems, not just for Lulu and Nana, but potentially for future generations if these changes were inherited. Furthermore, the case highlighted profound ethical questions about the use of genetic technology for enhancement versus treatment. While the intention was to prevent disease, the procedure opened the door to the possibility of "designer babies" chosen for specific traits, raising concerns about eugenics, inequality, and the societal impact of creating genetically modified humans. #pregnancy #ethics - @sermedmezher2