The British government may approve the fertility law so that couples in UK can choose the sex and possibly the genes of their “designer” babies. The UK government highlighted more than 70 fertility issues on Tuesday that are to be totally reappraised in its proposed update of the 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act. The ministers of the UK governments are possibly approving the new law which allows scientists to alter the genes of future generations as part of a reappraisal of the blanket ban on altering the genetic structure of embryos. The public consultation document published by the UK department of health also raises the possibility of allowing research on human embryos such as the creation of animal human “chimeric” embryos. The ministers in the UK government want the British public to submit its views on whether couples should be able to use embryo-screening or sperm-sorting techniques to choose the sex of their unborn babies.
Caroline Flint, the UK’s public health minister, said that he 1990 Fertility Act governing in-vitro fertilization technology was a landmark piece of legislation but, in the past 5 years, the science had changed along with public attitudes. “The act has done a good job in taking public confidence with it but we need to take stock. We need to strike the right balance,” Ms Flint said. “We never expected that the act would remain forever unchanged in the face of major developments in science and medicine.” The existing law bans the alteration of the genetic structure of any cell that is part of a human embryo but the government wants to test public opinion to see whether it could be allowed for research. Keywords: [Source: Deccan Chronicle]
