The Past and Future of ‘Designer Babies’ – Dissension over reprogenetics increases worldwide

January 15, 2009

Following a recent British breakthrough screening procedure, resulting in a 29 year-old woman giving birth to a healthy young girl who was completely without the breast cancer-generating gene BRCA 1, dispute over the ethics and the implications of using this selective technique on a large scale has escalated, with proponents and critics bringing equally strong arguments into discussion. While some say that pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) should only be used in selected cases, others say that widespread use could help geneticists find ways of creating healthier human beings in the future. (Softpedia)