Want a baby with green eyes? It can be done, said one clinic.

Last month, the Fertility Institutes in Los Angeles announced that they will allow a couple to choose the genetic traits of their child when they undergo fertility treatment.

Trait selection, according to Jeff Steinberg, director of the clinic, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 12, “is a service. We intend to offer it soon.”

The service, however, has serious ethical qualms. One qualm Sharon Sytsma, associate professor of philosophy, outlined is the role of concerned parents.

“Parents are supposed to have unconditional love for their children,” Sytsma said. “The idea that we can pick and choose what we want in our children threatens that unconditional love.”

There are other concerns as well. The procedure used for trait selection, known as pre-implementation genetic diagnosis, is a very delicate and expensive process in which an embryo is tested for genetic diseases before being implanted in the mother’s womb.

Because of how expensive the procedure can be, Sytsma said, over time, it could lead to a greater disparity between the rich and the poor. It could also reduce the diversity of the gene pool, a negative effect, Sytsma said.

“If we reduce the diversity of the gene pool, it could lead to the possibility of large sections of the population being wiped out by disease,” Sytsma said.

Some students seem to be turned off by the idea of choosing traits for their offspring. Lyssa Jami, senior elementary education major and a mother of three, said trait selection should be left up to God.

“How do you decide what’s best as a parent?” Jami said.

Michael Barnes, sophomore political science major, expressed similar sentiments. He stated the idea “seems wrong completely.”

“If it is like eye color, I do not feel it is right,” Barnes said. “It seems kind of shallow.”

PGD, however, has practical uses. It is used to screen offspring for potential genetic defects, a practice that some students said they supported.

“To me, all that matters is getting rid of genetic disorders that kids don’t need to be born with,” said junior history major Thomas Dady. Having been born with a recessive gene that causes diabetes, Dady said he would support the use of PGD to prevent his offspring from getting diabetes.

Junior sociology major Olga Tchertkova stated that PGD should only be used in serious circumstances. She pointed to the fact that even children with Down’s Syndrome have led full, productive lives.

The announcement by the Fertility Institutes has prompted a slew of news articles and coverage over the topic of trait selection and “designer babies.” On March 2, the institutes announced that they are suspending the service in response to the criticism. But the issue is not going away.

“The more characteristics we’re able to select, the more PGD use will increase,” Sytsma said. “It’s already very much a part of our society.”