Why talk of designer babies is harmful, not helpful

News this week from Chicago that a baby has been born after preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for Li-Fraumeni syndrome has, once again, prompted careless talk of designer babies. A number of US newspaper reports covered the story at the end of last week and couldn't resist mention of how PGD might be misused.

Reading the articles carefully, you see that this particular baby is not being labelled 'designed'. Rather, what many journalists and commentators say is that the growth of this technique might mean babies are designed in the future. The Chicago Tribune suggested that the birth 'raises a raft of ethical issues, suggesting to some that it is another step toward creating 'designer babies' with preselected genetic qualities'. In other words, an acceptable use of PGD might lead to unacceptable ones.

This kind of comment might seem sensible. Anticipating future possibilities and assessing their demand in advance appears the right thing to do, especially when it comes to formulating public policy on the issue. But focusing upon future possible abuses can be rather damaging for all concerned.

First, talking about PGD for a serious condition like Li-Fraumeni syndrome in the same breath as designer babies associates them, even though careful reading reveals that they are not thought to be the same thing. This association trivialises the reasons why patients with serious diseases in their family currently seek PGD.

Instead of intelligent foresight, focusing upon uses of PGD which are not currently - and may never be - available can make for bad policy-making. It runs the risk of ignoring current regulatory issues such as quality of service, cost and availability at the expense of inflated concerns about trying to select embryos on the basis of eye colour or intelligence.

Discussions concentrated upon designer babies often fail to consider one vital question: who wants a designer baby? There is no evidence that there is or will be any demand for what are thought to be trivial uses of the technique.

Instead, there are a growing number of people who want to see the continued development of a technique which can help some couples have a healthy child. PGD constitutes one of the very few options available to such couples, who, unlike the rest of us, are unable to leave reproduction to chance.