Culling Embryos

So, this wonderful guy asks me out on a date. We meet at an Italian restaurant with great atmosphere in NYC and right after our appetizers reach the table he asks “Are you sickle cell trait?” Great conversation for a first date, huh? I answer no, but he continues to tell me that he really likes me and he is sickle cell trait so he needs to be sure that I’m not. Scary, I’m trying to enjoy the live music and he is planning our possible future as parents! But I assured him that I did not have the trait and sure enough we were married a year later.

For about two years the New York Times has been running a series of articles on how the genetic information we have unraveled from DNA thus far has been impacting varying levels of society. They are all very interesting – including the most recent one on how genetic testing is raising insurance cost fears in the United States (link at bottom of blog). Another trend has been the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques, not to aid infertile couples, but to allow couples to literally choose which embryo they want to keep and discard the others. There are couples who choose their baby based on very superficial characteristics, like sex, height, likeliness to be thin or eye color. I won’t discuss any those choices because I truly cannot understand how anyone can create and discard life based on eye color and feel that it is totally ok. More importantly, there are couples who feel compelled to use IVF in hopes of ensuring their offspring are free of genetic disorders that may make them sick one day. My question: when did being sick translate to mean that you don’t deserve to live or don’t deserve a chance at life?

It certainly seems to me that the further medical technological advances are made is the more disregard we have for the sanctity of life. Now that children with Down’s syndrome are able to grow into adult hood and have productive lives it chosen to abort them and try again for a “normal” baby. Very recently it was found that a severely autistic teen, labeled as mentally retarded, had somehow managed to teach herself how to type and has revealed just how intelligent she really is. Her autism just made it extremely difficult to communicate, but now via typing she has written a few papers on what it’s like having severe autism. Our notion is that people with an illness have a poor quality of life, but without even realizing it our society is saying illness takes away your right to live. One of the potential mothers’ from the article said afterwards she felt like she allowed the other embryos to drown in the ocean and chose the one who happened to be a better swimmer…

Sometimes avoiding passing on certain genetic diseases to your children is as simple as asking a few questions before getting into a relationship. Other times, it’s not that easy. A close friend of mine had sickle cell disease. Neither of his parents knew they were carriers until his first crisis when he was a toddler. He died at 19 just when he was beginning his first year of college. He didn’t have a “normal life” and everyone said that he died so young, but his life wasn’t any less meaningful then my own or anyone elses. I remember him being so vibrant and smart. Even if he was just discharged from the hospital he’d be back in church at the next service. After his funeral his mom told me that even if she knew he had this disease when she was pregnant she would have still chosen to have him regardless of how strenuous it had been on the family. This said it is often the parents who don’t want to have to deal with having a sick child why they make certain decisions. In the article I mentioned one of the fathers said he’s happy knowing that his “daughter won’t ever be sick,” that he won’t ever have to stay up all night by her hospital bed wondering if she’s going to live.

Of course there is an argument to be made for diseases that are lethal. However my opinion is that it is selfish and irresponsible to KNOW that you have an Autosomal dominant LETHAL disease like Huntington’s and still have children. It may seem harsh, but I personally would simply adopt. There are millions of children around this planet and in the United States who need a safe and supportive home. If you fall into this unfortunate situation and you want children, why not offer them yours?

Culling Embryos posted by Octavia
UHSA Medical Student

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/series/dnaage/index.html

please go through some of the articles at the above link they are very well written and present important, current and relevant issues on DNA technology, thanks.