Tuesday, February 5, 2008

I'm The Mom. I'm The Dad. And I'm The Mom Too?

Scientists believe they have made a breakthrough in IVF treatment by creating a human embryo with three separate parents.

The Newcastle University team believe the technique could help to eradicate a whole class of hereditary diseases, including some forms of epilepsy.

The embryos have been created using DNA from a man and two women in lab tests.
It could ensure women with genetic defects do not pass the diseases on to their children.


However, such research has brought about opposition due to the nature of the research and the fact that they are human embryos.

Josephine Quintavalle, of the pro-life group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said it was "risky, dangerous" and a step towards "designer babies"

"It is human beings they are experimenting with," she said.

"We should not be messing around with the building blocks of life."

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Do you think the pros outweigh the cons?
-Would you be willing to accept such a treatment if you knew that your child could bypass genetic problems that could threaten the child's life?
-Do you think this is a step towards designer babies?
-Does the ends justify the means?
-So, how does one determine the mother?
-What if the donor mother decides she wants a relationship with the child later on, how ethically should that be handled?

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