Embryo Screening for
Medical technology is leaping ahead in the area of human reproduction. The process known as embryo screening has been used in a number of instances and its usage is expected to be widespread in the future. The term “designer babies” has been coined and is used in either a positive or negative light to describe the genetic selection process used in embryo screening.
The fact is that embryo screening could potentially make many inheritable diseases and even some pre-birth mutations nearly obsolete. Already in the UK several couples have received Government approval for embryo screening and in vitro fertilization with genetic selection. These couples all had genetic tendencies to develop a very aggressive and dangerous form of cancer. Through genetic screening they are able to stop the passage of the defective gene to their offspring. Once the gene is out of the family’s gene pool, it will never affect future generations.
The possibilities are almost endless! Genetic disposition towards becoming diabetic, developing high cholesterol building atherosclerosis, and certainly the incidence of many forms of cancer are all within the apparent range of this technology.
While England has a regulatory agency that can approve or disapprove genetic screening, in the United States there is no such authority. Unless the Congress passes a law to establish some kind of governing board, embryo screening could easily be applied to create true designer babies, with parents choosing color of hair and eyes, sex of the embryo, and a host of genetic factors related to appearance and even intelligence.
This approaching breakthrough in medical technology has the potential of changing the entire reproductive landscape for the human race. The ability to repair the genetic code of much of the population would decrease the incidence of many diseases and reduce the incidence of Downs Syndrome and other non-inherited traits that are developed in the embryonic stage.
One day in the not-too-distant future, parents will be able to almost ensure that their baby will be born healthy, and have greatly reduced tendencies to become unhealthy during their life span. Like wise, when their children become adults, their genetic code will be absent the “problem” gene that may have affected many previous generations on one or both sides of their families.
Embryo screening is just in its beginning stages, but the future looks very right for this technology and the good consequences to which it can be put. The U.S. might be wise to look into some form of “screening” of embryo screening so that nature is not over-manipulated, but designer babies that are healthier than any past generation are right over the horizon.
