A Baby, Please. Blonde, Freckles—Hold the Colic Presented by: Big Decision

P RE - IMPLANTATION G ENETIC D IAGNOSIS (PGD) Introduced in the 1990’s Has allowed thousands of parents to avoid passing on life threatening diseases to their children Could potentially be used for creating the baby of your dreams, aka “designer babies” This is cosmetic medicine, whether it is used for preventing diseases or choosing a child’s appearance

H OW D OES T HIS P ROCEDURE W ORK ? A 3-day-old embryo, which consists of about 6 cells, is tested in a lab to see if it carries any particular genetic diseases. Embryos that doesn’t have any diseases are implanted in the womb.

U NNATURAL S ELECTION

PGD C AUSES D ISCRIMINATION ? “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 in society.” -Marcy Darnovsky

PGD S TATISTICS Out of 999 people who required genetic counseling most people supported prenatal genetics tests for the abolition of certain serious diseases. 56% of survey takers supported the use of PGD to prevent blindness. 75% of survey takers supported the use of PGD to prevent mental retardation.

PGD S TATISTICS C ONTINUED 10% of survey takers approve of using PGD for improving athletic ability. 10% of survey takers approve of using PGD for height. 13% of survey takers approve of using PGD to gain super intelligence.

PGD P OSSIBILITIES PGD can now be used to create a younger sibling, that is genetically matched to an older sibling, in order to save an older siblings life.

This whole process has increasingly been used to weed out embryos at rick of genetic diseases such as breast cancer which can be treated, or that might not strike a person later in life. In 2007 the London Bridge Centre fertility clinic had screened embryos so that a baby wouldn’t suffer from a serious squint that afflicted the father. This has also been said to instead of just avoiding some conditions they can select embryo’s which make a person deaf. They focus on this because both parents are deaf. The John Hopkins survey found that 3 % of PGD clinics had provided this service, which is described as “negative Enhancement.” Groups who support this approach argue, for example, that a deaf child born to a deaf couple is better suited to participating in the parents’ shared culture.

In October 2007, there where scientist from deCode Genetics of Iceland which published a paper in Nature Genetics pinpointing various SNPs that influence skin, eye, and hair color, based on samples taken from people in Iceland and the Netherlands. This is said to be useful for teasing out the biology of skin and eye disease and for forensic DNA analysis. The Kari Stefansson, who is chief executive of deCode, said that the test can only give a certain chance that the child will have blond hair or blue eyes. This is not declared a absolute guarantee. He also said that he his not for the idea of tailor-making children. It has a big chance of decreasing human diversity. The biggest problem for trait selection is said to be having enough useful DNA material from the embryo’s.

Dr. William Kearns of the Shady Grove Center was able to identify complex diseases and physical traits. He was able to identify SNPs which identify with European skin, hair, and eye pigmentation. Effectively identified 80% of the cells tested

After Dr. Kearn’s discoveries were known to the public, Dr. Steinberg of Fertility Institutes, became interested in using Kearn’s talents to offer a trait selection to new parents. Later, in December, Fertility Institutes announced on their web site that couples would be able to choose their child’s traits.

Y OU CHOOSE !! Gender Eye color Hair color Complexion

NOT!!!! No “designer babies” says Kearns. Kearns firmly supports only using his method for medical, not cosmetic reasons.

M OST I MPORTANT Most of all, Kearns can potentially screen for lethal diseases BEFORE BIRTH!!! Kearns is only interested in benefiting the “better good” of society.

B UT WHAT ABOUT THE DESIGNER BABIES ? T HAT IS WHAT WE REALLY WANT !! Since Dr. Kearns is not interested in using his findings for cosmetic purposes, Dr. Steinberg is trying a new approach in analyzing the cells. He plans to take a cells from a five-day-old embryo instead of a the common three-day-old. He hopes this will lead to more reliable results in trait selection. So….

C OMING TO YOU SOON!!! Your dream baby!! By, Dr. Steinberg, he is there to serve you!