Last week, consumer genetics company 23andMe was granted a U.S. patent for a method of predicting, from parents’ DNA, the likelihood that their baby would have certain traits. The patent describes how the tool could be used in fertility clinics to choose traits desired by prospective parents, although 23andMe says it has no such plans.
In an editorial published today in Genetics in Medicine, a group of bioethicists question the morality of the method in the patent, which many are calling a designer baby system. On Wednesday, the Center for Genetics and Society called on 23andMe to abstain from offering any product based on this patent and to use its patent to prevent others from doing so.
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