Design baby's

Er wordt al lang over gesproken dat de wetenschap weldra zo ver zou zijn dat toekomstige ouders hun baby met eigenschappen  naar keuze bestellen. Nu is het zover.

 Beautiful bubs designed to perfection

Philip Sherwell 

Sidney Morning Herald

march 3th

A LOS ANGELES fertility clinic is offering to design a baby to the parents' preferences.

The Fertility Institutes service gives the chance to select physical traits, such as hair, skin and eye colour, through "cosmetic medicine".

Other fertility specialists are outraged that the clinic is seeking to capitalise on advances in embryo cell analysis aimed at identifying dangerous diseases and defects in the unborn.

They claimed that the "bespoke baby" in-vitro fertilisation service is distracting public attention from how the medical technology can produce children free of debilitating genetic conditions.

But the clinic's director, Jeff Steinberg, who was in the team involved in the 1978 birth in Britain of Louise Brown, the world's first test-tube baby, is undeterred.

"I live in LA and everyone here wants to have a straight nose and high cheekbones and are perfectly happy to pay for cosmetic surgery," he said.

"I understand the trepidation and concerns, but we cannot escape the fact that science is moving forward. If I have to get smacked around by people who think it is inappropriate, then I'm willing to live with that."

Dr Steinberg's clinic, the world's largest provider of gender choice, has had "five or six" requests for the new service, which involves embryo selection not genetic modification.

He expects the first "trait selection" baby to be born next year. The cost for the process will be about $US18,000 ($28,000).

It is based on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis that has for several years allowed doctors to identify potentially lethal diseases or conditions in embryos.

Yet scientists have recently made dramatic advances in their ability to analyse a cell. At a meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics last year, William Kearns, a medical geneticist, said he had been able to get enough DNA from a cell to identify thousands of characteristics of the embryo.

Dr Kearns explained the technique for medical use, but Dr Steinberg spotted other potential.

His proposal to offer trait selection has outraged Dr Kearns.

"I won't sell my soul for any amount," he said. "Steinberg has jumped on my research but I'm totally against this. My goal is to screen embryos to help couples have healthy babies free of genetic diseases. Traits are not diseases."

Dr Steinberg said IVF was once viewed with fear, but now "is not even a cocktail party curiosity".

Telegraph, London

Je kan het je al voorstellen. Niemand zal een kind willen met rood haar of sproeten, grote of te kleine neuzen zullen ook uit den boze zijn net als flaporen of kromme benen. Alle kinderen zullen in het noordelijk halfrond blond zijn met blauwe ogen met  mooi symetrische trekken. Ze zullen heel kalm, gehoorzaam zijn en hoogbegaafd.

Is dat niet het geval dan zal er gekeken worden naar de school en zal die school in kwestie het jaar daarop niet meer te kampen hebben met rijen kamperende ouders voor hun deur.

Kortom, kinderen zullen perfect zijn of kansloos. Ben ik blij dat ik al geboren ben!