During a scene in Gattaca, Vincent’s parents visited a doctor who specialized in child
conception to select for the best traits for his future brother. They hoped that his
brother would have the best possible chances for a successful life. Some of the traits
mentioned in GATTACA included intelligence, height and any possibility of
inheritable diseases.
If you decide to have a child one day and are given the opportunity to select for
special traits, would you do so? Why or why not?
The movie ‘Gattaca’ is about how the world could change at a time when genetic
engineering in humans becomes customary. People like Vincent can’t get involved with
many things because his life expectancy was known at birth, which was 30.2 years old.
Even his probable causes of death were known. If he wasn’t conceived naturally, he
would easily get the job at the space observatory. Instead, he goes all-in by using
numerous samples everyday, just to keep his dream job. It must have been a difficult
decision for Vincent’s parents to choose if they should select distinct traits for their child.
I wonder if I would do it.
If I had a child and was able to choose his/her characteristics, I wouldn’t. This is
because it evokes a question in my mind. Why would a species be given characteristics
individually that it didn’t already have? Society has progressed through the shortcomings
of people and tampering with humans can damage this functional process. For example,
almost all superheroes get their powers after their developmental stage. This is because
the person behind someone like Spider-Man won’t understand morals and could
subjugate his parents. This could lead to a Spider-Man being a super-villain, using his
abilities for criminal purposes. If these traits are developed at adulthood, it makes an
immense difference. It is mostly based around the fact that kids need to learn about ethics
and manners before they are exposed to their powers. Having these powers could go to
their heads.
All of this leads to a conclusion that I wouldn’t choose specific qualities for my
kids. It is confusing that we could change our bodies when we are already equipped to
adapt to the world. Vincent’s parents must have had a different perspective after having
him. It was enough to make them put special traits into the genetic buildup of his brother,
Anton. If I were in their situation, I would add those features because of the unsuccessful
natural birth. “Degenerates” could be defective, but they are still human.