So, people are freaking out about genetically edited babies following a recent procedure by a Chinese Scientist, He Jiankui, who claims he altered the DNA of multiple embryos for several couples in an attempt to prevent the babies from contracting HIV later in life. I think we all need to calm down and in fact be supportive of Mr Jiankui’s work which could end up saving many other families years down the road. I don’t think there’s a parent out there who doesn’t want to have healthy kids. You want your children to thrive and not spend every other week in hospital. We referred to such kids as “Sicklers” in school and they had everything from Sickle Cell Disease to Leukemia and sadly, some died in their teens. Medical bills aside, you don’t want to see your children in pain. And when it comes to terminal illnesses, we need to be open to these trials just in case they’re a success. Now, I’m not saying I don’t have any reservations at all. In fact, I don’t even think I would ever volunteer for vaccine trials as some people do for Ebola and related diseases but if someone’s trying to work on a cure for a rare form of cancer or disease, I’m not going to stand in their way. Researchers and Physicians are at times accused of playing God but I think most are genuinely trying to help. Think of children with Special Needs or those born with severe disabilities. If there’s even a slight chance that these cases can be prevented, why not take it? I have a bigger problem with parents and caretakers who abandon these poor kids than with medical practitioners who spend hours in labs testing possible treatment options. I think God gives Scientists the wisdom to do the things they do. When you’re involved in an accident or need an organ transplant, you don’t sit at home and wait on God to magically heal you. You’re rushed to the Emergency Room and there have been thousands of remarkable recoveries credited to teams of amazing doctors and surgeons. Amputations, blood transfusions, Caesarean Sections and other procedures are possible today because people took bold steps decades ago. There are couples who wouldn’t have children without Surrogacy and IVF, which by the way are still frowned upon in many places, not to mention the fact that they are quite costly. But to the thousands of couples who had tried to conceive naturally and failed, it was the non-conventional methods that worked. So what if a couple prefers a certain gender? It’s their baby! Personally, I wish Scientists could do something about the duration of pregnancy and the toll it takes on a woman’s body and not just that, the labour and delivery too. What if expectant Mums were pregnant for three to four months and childbirth was painless! I’m sure many women would appreciate that! And what if a baby can grow outside a womb! Could happen someday!
