On Friday, the first baby in Britain to be screened for a deadly breast cancer gene while still an embryo was born safely in London. The parents didn’t want to pass on the gene that would have ensured cancer in 80% of offspring. The technique used to ensure that the girl would be born free of the cancer gene is called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and has been used previously in Britain to prevent babies being born with more than 60 inherited disorders, including cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s disease. (Times of London has the story)
Also, this video below, offers another version of the uplifting aspect of the procedure.
This article is about parents that chose not to abort their developing fetus because it didn’t have a particular gene. I guess it’s good news that a child was lucky not to inherit a particular gene and so was permitted to live, but it sure strays from the good news that I expect on this site. The story makes me sad.
I don’t think you understand what actually happened. The parents did NOT abort any fetuses. Embryos were grown on a plate and then screened for their genes, the doctors than chose to implant the embryos without the cancer gene into the mother’s uterus. Abortion is when the embryo has been implanted into the uterus and the mother chooses to go to a clinic where a doctor uses a machine to remove it from her uterus. No such thing happened in this case.
Thanks for explaining that, amischit.
I also just added a video that might help to clarify what the uplifting component for families can be…
oooo, after reading the link this is SUCH a good… one its deliciously grey. Yes they screen and destroy embryos (which are developing ‘humans’ spinal cord an all) BUT by screening for the BRCA1 gene they stop their children from being 7 times more likely to develop ovarian and breast cancer what parent wouldnt want to give their children that?
so while indeed all life is sacred, doing nothing to potentially stop suffering is also very bad.
hahah what we gonna do?
🙂