Ethical Dilemma Prospective Parents Using In ...

Ethical Dilemma Prospective parents using in vitro fertilization have been using a procedure, known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (P.G.D), for more than a decade to screen for genes certain to cause childhood diseases that are severe and largely untreatable. A growing number of couples (some able to get pregnant without In vitro) are now crossing a new threshold for parental intervention in the genetic makeup of their offspring. They are using P.G.D. to detect a predisposition to cancers that may or may not develop later in life, and are often treatable if they do. In addition to gender, it’s possible to test embryos for an inherited form of deafness or a mild skin condition, or for a predisposition to arthritis or obesity. Parents are weighing whether their desire to prevent the possibility of suffering justifies the conscious selection of an embryo and the implicit rejection of those that carry a defective gene. (NY Times 9/3/06)