British fertility clinics raise scientific and ethical objections over patients sending embryos’ genetic data abroad for analysis
Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned.
The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA, is not permitted at UK fertility clinics and critics have raised scientific and ethical objections, saying the method is unproven. But under data protection laws, patients can – and in some cases have – demanded their embryos’ raw genetic data and sent it abroad for analysis in an effort to have smarter, healthier children.
Dr Cristina Hickman, a senior embryologist and founder of Avenues fertility clinic in London, said rapid advances in embryo screening techniques and the recent launch of several US companies offering so-called polygenic screening had left clinics facing “legal and ethical confusion”.
Yes, congratulations. Can you name a benefit of having the BRCA mutation?
If you had it, and you gave it to your daughter, how would you tell them that they have cancer because you thought the idea of using IVF to select against it was icky?
Yes. Tumors get suppressed.
That is what the gene does, the mutation does the opposite and causes massively increased rates of breast and ovarian cancer.
The fact it is so prevalent in the gene pool suggests there may be some benefit we are unaware of. Further study is needed.
Edit: and it doesn’t ‘cause’, it puts you ‘at risk for’.
Evolution doesn’t create perfect.
Evolution favors whatever traits are passed on. If you live long enough to reproduce then mission accomplished. Your quality of life leading up to that doesn’t matter as long as you survive long enough to do the deed
No it doesn’t. That’s not how evolution works. It is not perfect, it does not march towards good, it rolls random die and sees if that leads to having kids or not. If you get old enough to have kids and have them procreate it very much stops caring.
And I said that the mutation causes massive increases in the rate of breast cancer. Which it does. Read more carefully if you’re going to try to be pedantic.
Note that this is also the argument in favor of giving all the kids malaria. Everyone gets it without intervention, so it must be useful. Sure some people have a really really bad time, but…
No. No it isn’t, and I hope you actually understand that.