That Baby Comes With Standard Equipment Only

My blood ran cold after reading the letter from Kenneth L. Zimmerman (Letters, April 14) about the Human Genome Project (“Do We Really Want to Know All This?” by Laurie Garrett, March 3).

He asks why, if we buy the biggest, best, safest and most attractive car or TV, shouldn’t we do the same with a baby? Well, when we buy a car or TV, we can pick and choose the features we want, and if it doesn’t work as we expect, we can trade it in for something else. If we don’t like the way a baby works, we still have to keep the child. Many people seem to want not a child but a perfect little machine that doesn’t get angry, wet the bed or have any learning disabilities. These individuals are inclined to put children on personality-altering drugs instead of dealing with the fact that children, like all people, sometimes have problems.

I pity any child born to Zimmerman or anyone with similar feelings.

--Daniel McVey

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