When we start to genetically alter the genes of our children we are starting to mess around with evolution. Natural selection becomes not so natural and the concept of “survival of the fittest” is thrown out the window.
“If we’re going to produce children who are claimed to be superior because of their particular genes, we risk introducing new sources of discrimination in society,” stated Marcy Darnovsky, associate director of the Center for Genetics Society. If we continue to enhance our healthy children, what would our message be to society?
Today as Americans we are already faced with class differences that have the potential to evolve into genetic differences. Will we soon be classified as “gen-rich,” those who possess the magic genes, and “gen-poor,” the majority of what we, as humans, are today?
Our society has the potential to be great, to be every so often blessed with the athleticism of Babe Ruth or the bewitching routines of Shawn Johnson. But these incredible individuals are meant to be sporadic — to come and pass — and most of all, to be natural.
The insufficient laws concerning PGD allow for both parents and doctors to join forces in an open playing field.
PGD is not formally monitored in the United States. There is no limit to what a parent can ask for, and no limit to the outrageous possibilities a practicing doctor could fathom. The only established guideline allowing for a method to be moved from scientific testing to the clinical realm is the approval of two peer-reviewed papers showing that the risk/benefit ratio is “acceptable.”
“PGD will allow parents to choose the child they want, not simply reject the ones they don’t want. It will change the overriding purpose of IVF, from a treatment for fertility, to being able to pick and choose embryos like consumer goods — producing many, discarding most, and desiring only the chosen few,” claimed Stephen Baird, author of “Designer Babies: Eugenics Re-packaged or Consumer Goods.”
The method of combining PGD with IVF to alter the genetics of embryos needs to be considered rationally. Impulsively creating “savior siblings” and “designer babies” under inadequate laws is a recipe for disaster.
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This article appears either misleading or misinformed.
I looked up PGD online, and it appears to be mainly a screening process for potential disease. No genes are being "modified"; eggs are simply reviewed so that the chosen egg for in vitro fertilization is likely to have a healthy gestation and be born healthy. At its most controversial point, a form of it allows parents to select the gender of their child, which is controversial in itself, but nowhere near what the article makes it out to be. "Savior siblings" are also there to ensure a healthy pregnancy. It's the equivalent of having twins who are matches for kidney or blood donations. The second child is raised by the family also, not abandoned after the birth.
Science is many years away from being able to modify meaningful parts of an egg's DNA to obtain a desired traits you mentioned. Even then, do you think Babe Ruth and Shawn Johnson were that good from birth? They may have had physical predispositions to their talents, but I think it was the years of practice that make them the best, not their genes. In short, if the point of your article was that we should not make babies with superhuman abilities, then you can rest assured that we won't because we can't.
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Two things:
First, I don't think this idea of choosing the genes of our children will be an issue. For whatever reason, we all seem to have a natural reversion to creating "designer babies". I think the peak that we will let this technology reach might be to somehow engineer away genetic birth defects. Other than that, I have no desire to pick and choose my kids DNA, and I think most people don't have that desire either.
Second, consider the case of Yao Ming. Ming was essentially "hatched" by the Chinese communist party. His parents were the best and tallest basketball players in China some 30 years ago. The party pretty much forced them to be together and produce a son. Ming was given all sorts of nutritional supplements since he we born and trained in basketball since he could walk. Yao Ming was planned and bred to be an outstanding basketball player. Although it was done the natural way, couldn't this be considered unethical?
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Finley,
My name is Beth Whitehouse, I'm a journalist at Newsday in New York, and in April my book: "The Match: 'Savior Siblings' and One Family's Battle to Heal Their Daughter" will be on the bookstore shelves. You might want to read it. I followed a family on Long Island who chose to have a savior sibling who could offer a bone marrow transplant to their sick daughter. The book also goes into detail about the science and ethics of PGD. I think you would enjoy it and learn a lot, and perhaps change your opinion about whether these savior siblings are treated as "spare parts."
Also, the previous commenter is correct that PGD does NOT involve any kind of engineering of the embryo. An embryologist removes one cell from the embryo and that cell is then screened -- the original embryo waits in a laboratory and is not altered in any way prior to being implanted in the mother's womb.
I appreciate your interest in this subject, as it will become more and more common in the coming years.
Beth Whitehouse
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WHAT AN AMAZING ARTICLE FROM SUCH AN AMAZINGLY AWESOME PERSON
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I think your overestimating how popular this would be and underestimating the price of this kind of operation. If this were to remain legal, its not like every family would start doing it, so stop being so dramatic. lol.
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