SAUNDERS: Embryos made to order

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 8/8/6 | Debra J. Saunders

[SmithL]

JENNALEE RYAN of Texas advertises "The world's First Human Embryo Bank" online. There's no need for would-be parents to settle for already-born babies or leftover embryos from couples with fertility issues. Ryan sent out a letter that explains, "Recipient parents will receive pictures of the donors as infants, and sometimes as adults; full medical background and health reports, and a family history." Her group, The Abraham Center of Life, uses sperm donors only with college degrees -- although "most of them have doctorate degrees" -- while most egg donors have some college.

O Brave New World that has such petri dishes in it. Prospective parents can pick the sperm and the eggs to produce their designer babies. Ryan even says she can find a surrogate mother to carry the fetus to term.

Ryan would not give me the names of any clinic or any doctor with whom she works -- so I could not verify that she can deliver on her claims. Buyer beware. But her announcement has bioethicists in a lather. In response to a British newspaper story on Ryan's work, the Web blog for the American Journal of Bioethics wrote, "Welcome back to the Wild, Wild West of Assisted Reproduction."

Art Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, noted that even if Ryan is operating out of her own freezer, even if she is -- excuse the pun -- a "mom-and-pop entrepreneur, there will be bigger fish swimming in pretty soon." Why? "The demand is there. The behavior of people selling sperm and eggs is wild enough; there's no reason to think this isn't the natural next step in making babies: embryos to order."

Aren't you selling designer babies? I ask Ryan over the phone Thursday.

"Designer babies? Yeah. Why not?"

[dirtboy]

group, The Abraham Center of Life, uses sperm donors only with college degrees -- although "most of them have doctorate degrees"

Great. Just what we need. More over-educated sperms.

[mtbopfuyn]

Embryo Designer is something to put on a resume.

Next it'll be like ordering at drive thru at Jack-in-the-Box. Drive up to a big baby head, order over a fuzzy intercom, repeat the order 3 times, argue with the 16 year old doofus in the booth that you didn't order a baby with green hair and brown eyes but brown hair and green eyes. Look in the bundle before you drive off only to find they forgot the head. Do you want to Super-Size that?

[L98Fiero]

I wonder what the relevance of their education level is.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

I have nothing against the concept, per se. The problem with this isn't going to be what genetic traits are going to be and not be increased or decreased in the gene pool. The problem is going to be parents who expect their little Super-Gene to be 31 flavors of genius and get a child, who is subject to the all the unpredictable interactions of life that every other child is subject to.

Mind you, the randomness of life is one of the main reasons why I don't have any problems with the concept in the first place.

[weegee]

Sex Pistols - Bodies (excerpt)

she don't wanna baby that looks like that
i don't wanna baby that looks like that
body, i'm not an animal
body, i'm not an abortion
body, i'm not an animal

[GSlob]

Well, true made-to-order is still maybe 100 yrs away. Thus the title is an advertizing hogwash. Made-to-order would require being able to dial up the [at least generalized] personal characteristics like physical condition, expected longevity, strength of immune system, degree of giftedness and so on - like the toppings on a pizza. And since everybody would be dialing the desirable characteristics at the maximum values possible, the result would be the mass production of the likes of Leonardo da Vinci - [besides being a genius, he was able to twist with a single hand an iron door ring into a pretzel]. And who then will be flipping the burgers or drive septic trucks?

[SmithL]

...but they still won't stop and ask directions.

[dirtboy]

Not only that, but, being over-educated, they will stop to contemplate whether they have the moral right to violate the egg's personal space.

[little jeremiah]

MA list....I'll see if I can get to it later.

Playing God category.

[Old Student]

"I wonder what the relevance of their education level is."

Supposed correlation with intelligence, I expect.

[L98Fiero]

"Supposed correlation with intelligence, I expect."

That's what I was thinking. I'm not sure educational level is an accurate indicator of intelligence, though.

[Old Student]

" I'm not sure educational level is an accurate indicator of intelligence, though."

I agree; that would be why I said "Supposed." I've run into the attitude quite a bit, however. I ran into it a lot while I was active duty AF, particularly in officers, and especially in the young ones.

[L98Fiero]

"I ran into it a lot while I was active duty AF, particularly in officers, and especially in the young ones."

LOL! I was in the Navy. That made me think about this Naval Academy grad I checked in at our base and gave directions down to his sub, which was in port. He called me a few minutes later, lost. I joked with my buddies that this Naval Academy grad couldn't find the ocean. :)

[Old Student]

"LOL! I was in the Navy. That made me think about this Naval Academy grad I checked in at our base and gave directions down to his sub, which was in port. He called me a few minutes later, lost. I joked with my buddies that this Naval Academy grad couldn't find the ocean. :)"

You must have forgotten to assign his CPO babysitter! Shame on you! ;)