The U.S medical regulatory officials are studying whether to permit scientists to continue their experiment with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) methods which can pave the way for "designer babies". However, it also sparked worries of it leading to horrible genetic defects.
The three-parent technique was developed in hope to prevent babies from being born with genetic defects. The procedure is done by combining the DNA of three people.
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have set up a committee which will evaluate this new technique based on the scientific principles presented. However, some panelists expressed their concern and stated that safety in animal research does not mean that the new technique will also be safe when carried out to human beings.
Committee chairman Dr. Evan Snyder of Sanford/Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. argued that there are questions that were not answered and the data provided were also insufficient, Reuters reports.
Other panelists also tapped on the ethical and legality issues of the new technique. Speakers representing different organizations argued that such technique could lead to the alteration of the entire human population and may "open the door to genetically modified children".
Among the experts who expressed disagreement towards the new technique is Marcy Damovsk, executive director of the non-profit organization Center for Genetics and Society (CGS). She warned the committee that this technique would give rise to "a regime of high-tech consumer eugenics".
Although the FDA is only required to look into the scientific implications of the three-parent IVF, the agency stated that they are prepared to study other implications of the technique.
"We have heard the concerns expressed at the advisory committee meeting, and will take the information back to consider whether we need to facilitate a public discussion and, if so, how best to do this," FDA spokeswoman Jen Rodriguez said to Reuters.
