[quote=@Penny] Yeah we are torching our Mr and Mrs Smith meme, although I guess they fight in the movie too. [/quote] That's true... It's an underrated movie tbh. [quote=@Penny] You could also believe that it will have a neutral effect on the child and be good for the parent, or a good effect on the child and a bad effect on the parent. My contention is that choosing a feature such as hair color has neither a positive or negative effect on the child. [/quote] [quote=@Penny] Is there a particular reason the parents shouldn't have the choice, rather than rolling the dice? As for the other stuff thats kind of a stretch that relies on among other things, physical standards for citizenship which would be a huge and independent issue. A brother could throw his opinion out there I guess, but he wouldn't have any legal power to enforce it. [/quote] You could believe that, but there'd be no way to know exactly, and (in my opinion) in the end it would do nothing but ensure the parent's comfort. I can only say for certain how I'd feel, and while my appearance isn't so important to me, I was glad to be different looking growing up and it gave me my confidence, and if my parents chose to make me whiter like mom almost all of my life would be altered little by little. But even if I was born that way out of random chance, it would bring me comfort knowing I had no one to blame for it and that I was made by chance rather than my dad/mom feeling a certain way 26 years ago. And if I am speaking purely personally other than only somewhat with my experiences, I am a Christian too and even looking past a parent's responsibility, which I think choosing traits does go past their responsibility no matter your belief, I do think it's something you should be proud of because it's chosen by God. Also I just think that if the child really wouldn't be effected by the change, it really wouldn't matter who switched it up. The president, the brother, the doctor. The kid won't know any different so why does it matter? [quote=@Kratesis] If I had the option to genetically tailor my child I would take it in a heartbeat. The chances of mental illness could be dramatically reduced and their life outcomes could be improved by selecting genes related to intelligence and health. They would be happier, healthier and wealthier. Were I a parent I would find myself obligated to do everything I could to give them the best chance in life and DNA is no exception to the responsibilities of motherhood. [/quote] Oh we're just talking aesthetically. Like parent's choosing gender, eye color, hair color, etc. But yes, I think we'd all choose good genetic traits for them for their health.