UK’s First Three Parent Baby Might be Born in 2017
That’s right, the UK’s first three parent baby could be born next year. But how, and why? Aren’t genetically modified babies a slippery slope? As you can imagine, this revolutionary procedure is not without its critics.
If you found out you could potentially pass-on a debilitating genetic condition to your child, would you still want to have kids? If a procedure existed to alter your baby’s DNA and avoid the genetic condition, would you go ahead with it? A lot of parents probably would.
Genetically Modified Babies? UK Scientist Gets Go Ahead to ‘Edit’ Human Embryos
The goal is to avoid genetic mutations passed-down from a mother’s DNA. These types of mutations cause mitochondrial disorders such as diabetes, Leigh syndrome, and a wide range of other disorders. Symptoms can include heart defects, learning disabilities, seizures, deafness, and blindness. Sometimes the symptoms can be mild. But in more sever cases, the babies live very short and debilitating lives or require lifelong assistance.
Since these mitochondrial disorders are passed-down from the mom’s DNA, the third parent will always be a woman. So it’s not a My Two Dads thing but a My Two Moms and a Dad thing. And this isn’t just a donor egg-type situation: mitochondrial DNA from one mom will be used to replace the other mom’s DNA which carries the mutation.
Researchers in the UK have been studying this for years, but not everyone is convinced. For one thing, scientists aren’t sure how this DNA will transfer through generations. Will there be consequences when the three parent baby grows up and wants kids of their own? No one knows. But doctors plan to do long-term (if not life-long) follow-up observation on every three parent baby.
The next concern is of course the slippery slope. Where does it end? Sure, we might start by fixing genetic mutations– seems harmless enough. But does this mean patients might start asking for designer babies? If you have dark skin and life wasn’t exactly favorable to you, would you want your child to be born with light skin? Would you alter your child’s personality traits? Is a wave of voluntary ethnic cleansing on the horizon?!
(More below the video)
Personally, I don’t think designer babies will be anything to worry about. Plus they already exist. Any woman (or couple) can already walk into a sperm bank and read through dozens of donor cards which list personality traits, background histories, education levels, and so on. The same goes for donor eggs. You basically already can produce a designer baby. And how many people do you know who have actually used a donor egg or sperm because they wanted a “perfect” child? No, they usually use a donor when they can’t conceive on their own or don’t have a partner.
Either way, parents can now apply for the program. Each clinic will be monitored and approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. They aim to help 25 couples each year.
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Randi Nord lives in Pontiac, Michigan. She is a journalist for the The Fifth Column, co-founder of Geopolitics Alert, and co-hosts a podcast about geopolitics.