[Apologetics] Testing embryos for genetic disorders

[Stephen Korsman]

Hi

Familial hypercholesterolaemia is not a nice disease to have, with most sufferers dying young.  I know a recently qualified doctor with it.  Perhaps he's only a burden to society with his disease.  Such embryos are now discardable; perhaps soon abortable.  Maybe diabetes next.  Depression?  Potentially fat people?  IQ potentially below 120?  We just need genetic markers for some things.  We already abort potentially defective pre-humans, as well as those with minor defects.

</sarcasm>

God bless,
Stephen



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UK Sanctions Testing of Embryos for FH 
from Heartwire - a professional news service of WebMD


Lisa Nainggolan


December 19, 2007 (London, UK) - The UK Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has granted the first license to a clinic to perform preimplantation genetic diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) [1]. 

Contrary to media reports over the weekend, the license covers only the most serious, homozygous, form of FH and not the more common heterozygous form. 

The license has been awarded to Dr Paul Serhal (University College London, UK). Serhal told heartwire that his clinic requested a license to screen for the homozygous form of FH only, and he believes his will be the first institution in the world to screen embryos for this condition. 

Dr Eric Topol (Scripps Translational Science Institute, La Jolla, CA) told heartwire: "I think this is a very interesting development. The ability to detect homozygous FH and the potential to act upon it, in fully informed parents, represents a step forward. This rare, very serious condition is exceptionally difficult to treat and is frankly incurable, with premature coronary artery disease and death." 

No heterozygous embryos will be discarded 

FH is an autosomal dominant condition caused by a single gene defect on chromosome 19. People inheriting two copies of the defective gene--which is extremely rare (around one in one million people in the US)--show severely elevated LDL-cholesterol levels from birth and are predisposed to early atherosclerosis. Many die in childhood, and most suffer at least one MI by the end of their 20s.

The milder, heterozygous form of FH is much more common, affecting one in 500 people, and it can be managed using a combination of diet and statin therapy, although there are limited data on the long-term use of statins in children. 

The patients for whom the license has been awarded are in their 30s and discovered that they were both heterozygous for FH only after having their first child, a girl who is now five and is homozygous for FH. They also have an unaffected son. 

The preimplantation diagnosis will involve taking a single cell from each of a number of embryos produced via in vitro fertilization; any embryos homozygous for FH will be destroyed. The test will also identify whether any embryos are heterozygous for FH. 

Serhal told heartwire: "We are very clear on this. We are not going to throw away any heterozygous embryos. What is really important is to focus on those who have the homozygous pattern and leave it at that." 

Media reports inaccurate; headlines scream "designer babies"

Most media reports in the UK last weekend mistakenly said that the HFEA would be granting a license to Serhal to screen for both the heterozygous and homozygous forms of FH. The stories tended to focus on the heterozygous testing angle and spouted much rhetoric about "designer babies."

An article in the Times of London, by Mark Henderson [2], said: "The decision by the fertility watchdog will reopen controversy over the ethics of designer babies, as it allows doctors to screen embryos for a condition that is treatable with drugs and can be influenced by lifestyle as well as genes. 

"Critics argue that the test will allow couples to destroy embryos that would have had a good chance of becoming children with fulfilling and reasonably healthy lives," Henderson continues. "The test will also create an unprecedented moral dilemma for some couples, as it could show that they have produced no embryos completely unaffected by the disease. This would force them to decide whether to implant embryos that they know have a genetic risk of premature heart disease and death or to throw them away and deny them a chance of life." 

The UK Daily Mail [3], citing the Times article, got even more carried away: "Some experts fear extended genetic screening may eventually be used to create babies chosen for physical characteristics, such as blue eyes or blond hair." 

Only the Guardian report indicated that the UK's fertility watchdog might limit screening to the more serious, homozygous, form of FH [4]. 

Serhal told heartwire that he thought he had made it clear to journalists he spoke to that he had requested a license only for and would be screening only for homozygous FH. 

  1.. Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. HFEA statement on a licence to screen for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. December 19, 2007. Available at: http://www.hfea.gov.uk/en/273.html.
  2.. Henderson M. Designer baby fear over heart gene test. London Times, December 15, 2007. Available at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3054249.ece.
  3.. McDermott N. Designer baby fears after couple win right to scan for heart disease gene. Daily Mail, December 15, 2007. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=502477&in_page_id=1774
  4.. Topping A. Gene test to screen embryos at risk of developing heart illness. Guardian, December 15, 2007. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/dec/15/genetics.health. .
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