Commercialization of human reproduction January 11, 2007
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in genetics, Invention, Medicine, Pregnancy, Prevention, science.trackback
Washinton Post has an interesting article on the ethical issues of a company that allows parents to select embryo characteristics. In one of my previous posts, Choosing genetic defects?, I’ve had to deal with a similar subject. So now, the Abraham Center of Life creates embryos and allows parents to select embryos after reviewing the egg and sperm donor characteristics, such as race, education, appearance and personality. Jennalee Ryan, who is selling the service, points out that:
We’re just trying to help people have babies,” said Jennalee Ryan, who arranged for an egg donor to start medical treatments to produce a second batch of embryos this week. “For me, that’s what this is all about: helping make babies… selecting an embryo is more affordable than selecting both an egg donor and a sperm donor.
But this Embryo Bank raises alarm among bioethicists:
It’s like you’re ordering a computer from Dell: You give them the specs, and they put it in the mail. I don’t think we should consider mail-order computers and other products the same way we consider children.
But to be neutral, here is the opinion of the other side:
I know some people say: ‘This is shocking. Embryos made to order,’ ” said John A. Robertson of the University of Texas at Austin, who advises fertility specialists on ethical issues. “But if you step back a little bit, you realize that people are already choosing sperm and egg donors in separate transactions. Combining them doesn’t pose any new major ethical problems.”
The total price tag of the whole procession is less than $10,000. I don’t think this method is evil. What do you think?
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I don’t think this is evil, but I do wonder why someone would go through all this trouble and expense when there are so many babies in need of adoption.
I understand your point of view but you know well, it’s different to have a child with the half of your genome.
But these folks are buying embryos that won’t share any of their genetics. I guess the mothers want the prenatal bonding & the whole pregnancy experience, but it just seems like a lot of trouble for that.
The Gattaca ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/ ) came into my head. Anybody who had seen this film will now what is my opinion. This whole thing is a bad idea.
what happens to the embryo that are not selected, do they killed, because if the do its murder or potential human life. and i totally agree with the gattaca movie.its amazing. it is eveil to not love a kid simply because they are not your dream child, and it is eveil to love one of your children over another because the loved one is the”good kid”. but seriously. its just sickening.