Outcry as clinic offers 'designer baby' embryo screening for 200 diseases
By JENNY HOPE, Medical Correspondent
13th November 2006

Controversy has erupted over a new technique offered on the NHS which screens embryos for over 200 inherited diseases.

Doctors are heralding the test as 'revolutionary' for the diagnosis of genetic disorders.
But critics warn the ground-breaking technique is another step towards the creation of the 'designer baby'.

They fear extended genetic screening may eventually be used to create babies chosen for physical characteristics, such as blue eyes or blond hair.

Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: ''We are venturing into the unknown with extended genetic testing because we know so little about this field.

''Who knows what is being discarded and there is always the risk of misdiagnosis.

'It's the whole process that is disturbing and when you have got 200 diseases that can be tested for, it seems inevitable that the next step will be the designer element.' the rest