Embryo screening 'devalues' disabled (New Zealand)

Screening human embryos for serious genetic conditions could "devalue" disabled children, the Office of the Children's Commissioner says.


Commission policy analyst Mavis Duncanson told the National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction yesterday that pre-implantation genetic diagnosis raised questions about the way society viewed disabled people.

The test allows parents at risk of passing on a serious genetic disorder, such as cystic fibrosis or haemophilia, to check that an embryo is clear of the condition before it is implanted in the mother's womb.

Health Minister Annette King approved PGD in principle in June last year and asked the committee to develop guidelines. It is holding public hearings into the draft guidelines, which ban the use of PGD for non-medical reasons, including the selection of a baby's gender.

Dr Duncanson said the office was concerned that the actions of parents who killed their disabled children were considered more understandable than those who killed children without disabilities. "There is something deep-seated and inherent within us that somehow values a disabled child less than we value other children."

The availability of PGD could...