Britain may be on way to become the first nation to allow creation of designer babies in what is being called a three-parent fertility treatment to those families which would like prevent their children contracting incurable diseases from them. The controversial potential treatment is known as three-parent IVF as the baby will have genes from a mother, a father and from another female donor as well.
The controversial invetro fertility methods, currently only at the research stage in Britain and the US, may involve implanting genetically modified embryos into women. Critics say the technique is ethically suspect and may eventually lead to a eugenic designer baby market. The controversial three-way IVF fertility treatment involves intervening in the fertilization process to remove faulty mitochondrial DNA, which can lead to inherited ailments like fatal heart problems, liver failures, brain disorders, blindness and muscular dystrophy among others. The methods are designed to help families with mitochondrial illness incurable conditions passed down the maternal line that affect around one in 6,500 children worldwide. Mitochondria act as tiny energy-generating batteries inside cells. After a public consultation showed Britons broadly favour the idea, the government’s chief physician said it should be allowed to go ahead under strict regulation.
Scientists have developed ground-breaking new procedures which could stop these diseases being passed on, bringing hope to many families seeking to prevent their children inheriting them, Sally Davies, chief medical officer, said. Its only right that we look to introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as we can. But David King, director of the Human Genetics Alert campaign group said the techniques are unnecessary and their use is ethically unsound and criticized the government for failing to conduct a more comprehensive public consultation. They cross the ethical line that has been agreed by government around the world that we should not genetically alter human beings, he said.
