Natural vs. artificial insemination, these are two camps facing each other. Boy or girl? Blue eyes or brown eyes? Do you let it be on the nature or do you want to control certain features of your child? Some parents are eager to model their future offspring to their liking.
Many countries regulate the process of artificial insemination. The United States stands on the other side of the barricade. Local clinics offer options that are not allowed elsewhere. Patients can choose not only sex but also eye color or undergo sperm fertilization from an anonymous donor.
The Taste Grows with Food
Clinics in the US offer opportunities that other countries do not provide and practically attract clients from around the world.
The choice of sex or eye color is not enough for future parents. Potential parents long for talented children in singing or sports, which no clinic has been able to provide.
73 percent of US clinics allow descendant sex selection. More than three-quarters of them offer these services not only to couples who have problems with conception, but also to people considering artificial insemination just to have control over the characteristics of their future children.
Myome company claims to soon be able to ensure that children from artificial insemination grow into healthy adults by calculating their health risks. People will be able to choose the healthiest child and prevent possible disorders. And another company, Genomic Prediction, promises in the future to exclude embryos at risk for the birth of a low IQ offspring.
Research vs. Ethics
A Chinese scientist, Che Ťien-kchuej, who told the world at the end of November 2018 that with the help of a tool known as CRISPR, he was able to modify the DNA of cell parts to give the born child immunity to HIV. No one has yet verified his claims, and doubts remain among the professional community. In addition, Che broke Chinese laws that ban genetic modification.
Anonymous semen donation is banned in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Three countries in the world – Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States – allow the selection of the child sex.
Where is the boundary between helping infertile couples and the whims of a consumer?
Sources: https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/22/18192961/crispr-genetic-engineering-baby-ethics-scientist-china-investigation-he-jiankui, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/01/sunday-review/crispr-china-babies-gene-editing.html
Credit: pixabay.com, commons.wikimedia.org
