Sex? Soon, we’ll all make babies in a lab, says expert
FOR couples who want to have a baby, there has always been one simple, popular method.
But it may be time to dispense with the scented candles, smooth jazz and rose petals, as a leading scientist predicts sex f or procreation will soon be obsolete.
Couples trying to become pregnant will i ncreasingly opt for designer embryos conceived and chosen in the laboratory, according to Professor Henry Greely.
The genetics expert, from Stanford University in the US, claims that within 20 to 40 years most couples will conceive using IVF.
He is convinced future humans will be so worried about genetic diseases they will not want to risk leaving their pregnancy to nature.
That will spell the beginning of the end for sex for procreation, he believes. After a couple have decided to have a baby, says Professor Greely, they will provide scientists with a sperm and skin sample – with the latter used to make stem cells and then create eggs.
These will be sent to a lab to create 100 embryos, the best of which will be chosen to be implanted into the woman’s womb.
The professor, who is also an expert in the legal issues surrounding genetics, claims medical advances will l ead to couples choosing the cosmetic features and intelligence of their children.
And he even believes there may be a ‘ stigma’ over conceiving babies through sex, because it will be deemed socially irresponsible in case they have diseases.
He said: ‘In 20 to 40 years when a couple wants a baby, he’ll provide sperm.’ The woman will then provide a skin sample.
Professor Greely added: ‘ Prospective parents will be told: “These five have really serious diseases, you don’t want them”. Of the other 95, they will be given the pluses and minuses.’
Professor Greely makes his claims in a book The End Of Sex And The Future Of Human Reproduction. He added: ‘Parents will get the embryos grouped by categories. One category will be very severe, untreatable, nasty diseases. This will affect 1 to 2 per cent of embryos. Another category will be other diseases.
‘The third is cosmetics: hair, eyes, shape, whether the hair goes white early. We don’t know much about this yet but we will.
‘A fourth category is behavioural – I think here information will be limited. We won’t be able to say: “This child is in the top 1 per cent of intelligence”.
‘We probably will be able to say: “This child has a 60 per cent chance of being in the top half”.’
He also claims genetic engineering would save the NHS millions through not having to treat children for illnesses.
‘Particularly in countries where you pay for healthcare socially, if children are born after this there is a possibility there may be a stigma to doing so naturally,’ he added.
The row over designer babies intensified last month when London’s Francis Crick Institute got the go-ahead to genetically modify human embryos in a world-first.
They hope to discover why some women fail to become pregnant or suffer repeated miscarriages.
But critics claim it could eventually lead to couples altering the DNA of their embryos just for cosmetic reasons.