WSJ Examines Potential Of Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis To Select For Physical Traits

Main Category: Fertility
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Genetics
Article Date: 13 Feb 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined the use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to allow people to select the gender and physical traits in their infant when they undergo fertility treatments. The technique has "long been used" to test embryos for genes that could cause life-threatening diseases, but it has "quietly progressed to the point that it could potentially be used to create designer babies," the Journal reports. According to the Journal, PGD involves testing a three-day-old embryo -- which consists of about six cells -- for a particular genetic trait. In cases of disease screening, embryos free of the genetic disease are then implanted in the woman. According to the Journal, thousands of couples have avoided passing deadly disorders to their children since the technique was introduced in the 1990s. The procedure is now being used to target less serious medical conditions and non-medical traits, such as gender, and the "next controversial step is to select physical traits for cosmetic reasons," the Journal reports.

According to the Journal, no state or federal regulations in the U.S. regulate the use of PGD, but many other countries have banned the use of the technique for gender selection. A 2006 survey by the Johns Hopkins Genetics and Public Policy Center found that 42% of 137 PGD clinics offered services for gender selection. The lack of U.S. regulation has "accelerated genetic knowledge swiftly enough" that pre-selecting cosmetic traits in an infant is "no longer the stuff of science fiction," the Journal reports. Mark Hughes, director of the Detroit-based fertility laboratory Genesis Genetics Institute and a pioneer of PGD, said, "It's technically feasible, and it can be done." However, he added that "no legitimate lab would get into" PGD for pre-selecting cosmetic traits and that "if they did, they'd be ostracized." A Los Angeles-based fertility clinic, Fertility Institutes, claims that it will soon help patients select gender and physical traits through PGD. Jeff Steinberg, director of the clinic, called the use of the procedure "cosmetic medicine." He said, "Others are frightened by the criticism, but we have no problems with it," adding that the clinic intends to offer the service soon.

A recent survey by researchers at the New York University School of Medicine of 999 people who sought genetic counseling found that a majority said they supported PGD for the elimination of serious disease, with 56% supporting its use to counter blindness and 75% for mental retardation. The Journal reports that "[m]ore provocatively," about 10% of the respondents said they would want PGD to determine athletic ability, 10% for improved height and 13% for superior intelligence. The Journal reports that PGD has "steadily expanded its scope, often in contentious ways." It can be used, for example, to create a "savior sibling" that is a genetic match to an older sibling, with healthy cells that can be used to treat a serious illness in the older sibling. Additionally, PGD can be used to "weed out" embryos that could have a high risk of diseases like breast cancer that could affect a person later in life but are considered treatable.

Kari Stefansson, CEO of Iceland's deCode Genetics, said he "vehemently oppose[s]" the use of discoveries made through PGD research "for tailor-making children," as the practice would eventually "decrease human diversity, and that's dangerous." Marcy Darnovsky, associate executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, said, "If we're going to produce children who are claimed to be superior because of their particular genes, we risk introducing new sources of discrimination" into society (Naik, Wall Street Journal, 2/12).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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