Academic warns Ireland ill-prepared for designer babies

An announcement by US scientists this week that they have modified human embryos to get rid of genetic mutations that cause heart disease is a “game-changer” according to Dr Aisling de Paor, a law lecturer at Dublin City University.

She told The Irish Times: “It opens the door to tailoring the genetic make-up of our children. It also facilitates the selection of hair or eye colour, sporting ability, or behavioural traits.”

But Dr de Paor is worried that the successful procedure could revive eugenics, which fell out of favour after the Nazi era.

“It is no longer in the realm of science fiction to imagine a Gattaca-type society focused on genetic cleansing. We need to be worried about the possibility of this new age of eugenics.”

In a paper published this week, US scientists described how they removed mutations in an embryo made with the sperm of a man with an inherited heart condition.

Dr de Paor said: “So with these new developments there is the ethical concern that technology will be used to screen out disability in society. This is extremely worrying from a human rights perspective, and in relation to the current and future rights of people with disabilities.”

Ireland lacks a legal framework to tackle these issues, she said, adding that regulation is needed after a dialogue has taken place between doctors, the public and regulators.