Parents deserve kids with their own genes – Singapore court
by Xavier Symons | 7 Apr 2017 |
A Singaporean court recently ruled that parents have a strong interest in having genetic affinity with their children – an interest that, when violated, can be grounds for compensation.
The court made the surprising decision when assessing a claim by a couple who had their gametes mixed up with a donor sperm when undergoing IVF with Singaporean company Thompson Medical. The couple became aware of the mistake when they noticed that their child had remarkably different physical features from their own, include hair colour and skin tone.
While the court was careful not base the decision on the controversial notion of “wrongful birth”, it did, nevertheless, acknowledge the parents had a strong interest in being genetically related to their children, and Thomson Medical had violated this interest.
The IVF provider was ordered to pay damages, include 30% of the child’s upkeep costs through to the age of 21.
In an article in The Conversation, ethicist G. Owen Schaefer from the National University of Singapore said the decision may have far-reaching implications for future cases involving negligence and assisted reproduction:
“Do women with mitochondrial disorders have a right to engage in “three-parent IVF” to ensure genetic affinity with a healthy child[...]? If we use CRISPR-cas9 gene-editing technology to alter the genes of embryos, does it constitute a loss of genetic affinity with parents? And is it possible to use such editing to shift genetic affinity, by making a child’s traits more in line with one parent rather than the other? These questions will only become more pressing as science advances, and the concept of genetic affinity may provide a coherent lens through which to consider them.”
Saturday, April 8, 2017
The civil war in Syria may have moved into a dangerous new stage. President Trump ordered a strike on a government air force base, blaming the regime for dropping sarin, a lethal chemical weapon, on a northern town. He announced his decision in an emotional speech:
"Assad choked out the lives of innocent men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of god should ever suffer such horror."
As everyone knows, there are no good guys in this appalling war. The attack on Khan Sheikhoun was just more spectacular than the daily slaughter of three here, a dozen there. If you consult the website of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights or Syria Deeply, the headlines are enough to make anyone weep. One of the most distressing aspects of the conflict is the "weaponisation of healthcare" -- deliberately targeting medical personnel and facilities to terrorise the population. You can read about it below.
Oh, I almost forgot: there will be no newsletter next Saturday because the BioEdge team will be celebrating Easter. Cheers!
Oh, I almost forgot: there will be no newsletter next Saturday because the BioEdge team will be celebrating Easter. Cheers!
Michael Cook
Editor
BioEdge
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It could stigmatise the elderlyBioEdge
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