Genetic Engineering has always been with us

Lots of my friends bemoan genetic engineering in all its forms. They won’t eat genetically engineered foods and they criticize anyone who wants “designer babies,” that is, who want to modify genes in the womb to address possible genetically transmitted diseases, or anything else that sounds scary (having to do with modifying genes). What these critics do not realize is that we have been genetically engineering babies forever, simply by choosing who we have children with. Tall, thin, attractive girls have many more suitors than do short, fat, ugly girls. And those suitors tend to be tall, muscular, handsome, guys.

The only way to prevent this genetic engineering is to mandate that the least attractive girls can only marry the most handsome men and the most attractive girls must be forced to marry the least handsome guys. The critics should ponder what kind of a dystopian world we would have under such conditions. And, meanwhile, let’s stop criticizing genetic engineering in all its forms and, rather, look forward to the reduction of diseases and longer, healthier, happier, lives that can be the result.