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Couples Cull Embryos to Halt Heritage of Cancer
NY Times ^ | 09.03.06 | AMY HARMON

Posted on 09/03/2006 1:55:46 PM PDT by Coleus

As Chad Kingsbury watches his daughter playing in the sandbox behind their suburban Chicago house, the thought that has flashed through his mind a million times in her two years of life comes again: Chloe will never be sick.

Not, at least, with the inherited form of colon cancer that has devastated his family, killing his mother, her father and her two brothers, and that he too may face because of a genetic mutation that makes him unusually susceptible.

By subjecting Chloe to a genetic test when she was an eight-cell embryo in a petri dish, Mr. Kingsbury and his wife, Colby, were able to determine that she did not harbor the defective gene. That was the reason they selected her, from among the other embryos they had conceived through elective in vitro fertilization, to implant in her mother’s uterus.

Prospective parents have been using the procedure, known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or P.G.D., for more than a decade to screen for genes certain to cause childhood diseases that are severe and largely untreatable.

Now a growing number of couples like the Kingsburys are crossing a new threshold for parental intervention in the genetic makeup of their offspring: They are using P.G.D. to detect a predisposition to cancers that may or may not develop later in life, and are often treatable if they do.

For most parents who have used preimplantation diagnosis, the burden of playing God has been trumped by the near certainty that diseases like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia will afflict the children who carry the genetic mutation that causes them.


(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abortion; babies; babyfarms; babykillers; cafeteriacatholic; cancer; dna; embryo; embryos; geneticdefects; genetics; ivf; moralrelativism; murder; nytreasontimes; pickandchoose; playinggod; selectivereduction; selfcentered; selfishness; slipperyslope; treasonmedia
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"In the future, many specialists believe, most in vitro fertilizations will be performed for fertile couples seeking genetic diagnosis, not as a treatment for infertility." >>>>

the slippery slope, the end does not justify the means.

Once government begins to define life and humanity, there is no end to the possibilities for subjective and selective determination as to who will be allowed to live.

1 posted on 09/03/2006 1:55:47 PM PDT by Coleus
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To: Coleus

Oh, isn't this a heartwarming story? They choose the kids they want, and kills those that they don't. Pelosi's heart must be warmed by this great news.


2 posted on 09/03/2006 1:57:04 PM PDT by The Cuban
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To: 2ndMostConservativeBrdMember; afraidfortherepublic; Alas; al_c; american colleen; annalex; ...


3 posted on 09/03/2006 2:05:32 PM PDT by Coleus (I Support Research using the Ethical, Effective and Moral use of stem cells: non-embryonic "adult")
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To: Coleus
IMHO, it seems like another Pandora's box. But to each, his or her own. Doc's will probably be successfully sued for not offering counseling about preimplantation genetic diagnosis. I was just about to post this with the printer friendly page and four of the many links. Here's two.

Graphic: Screening Embryos for Future Disease P.S. Enlarge the graphic to read it.

Statistics for 2006 (American Cancer Society)

4 posted on 09/03/2006 2:06:01 PM PDT by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: The Cuban

What do you do with your fingernail clippings? Do you mourn every time you spit? People discard small numbers of cells all the time. These embryos were not in the womb and would never develop into people unless placed there. I understand that it's a gray area but I'm pro-life and see nothing wrong with what they did.


5 posted on 09/03/2006 2:09:57 PM PDT by free_at_jsl.com
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To: free_at_jsl.com
Wow..embryos and nail clippings, I sure can see that they are the same!
6 posted on 09/03/2006 2:12:07 PM PDT by svcw
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To: Coleus

I wonder if dad Chad wishes he'd been "culled."


7 posted on 09/03/2006 2:12:21 PM PDT by Clara Lou (Only a fool creates ill will unnecessarily.)
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To: free_at_jsl.com

No you are really not pro-life. You have defined the moment life begins, at implantation. This is not a "small amount of cells" this is a life, who has not yet been implanted in a womb. Life begins at conception.


8 posted on 09/03/2006 2:12:53 PM PDT by The Cuban
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To: Coleus

Anyone see Gattaca ? The slippery slope of eugenics. Once you get down that path... it's pretty scary.


9 posted on 09/03/2006 2:13:06 PM PDT by farlander (Strategery - sure beats liberalism!)
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To: The Cuban
I understand all the arguments and you have no right to tell me what I am and am not. You do have the right to say that you disagree with me and explain why. Yes, life is sacred. Yes, all cells are alive. If a couple agrees to destroy 8 cells in a petri dish, it's far different from having an abortion.
10 posted on 09/03/2006 2:17:21 PM PDT by free_at_jsl.com
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To: free_at_jsl.com

My fingernails do not go on to become children. We used to love and protect the unborn.


11 posted on 09/03/2006 2:19:28 PM PDT by sine_nomine (American is a great country: 20 million illegals can't be wrong. So build that wall, Mr. Bush.)
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To: free_at_jsl.com
What do you do with your fingernail clippings? Do you mourn every time you spit? People discard small numbers of cells all the time. These embryos were not in the womb and would never develop into people unless placed there...

I understand your perspective. Even among embryos that do implant, a sizable fraction spontaneously abort with the woman not even aware she was pregnant.. we don't hold women for skipping a period, but not producing a child, as potential "child killers". However, there is a danger that this will cross from screening for a fatal disease to screen for something far more capricious... small height? low intelligence? blue eyes?

On the other hand, my sister went through the heartbreak of having a baby that had brain cancer. She died at 7.5 months, the last 6 weeks of her life spent in intensive care. Could she have been blamed for "pre-screening" if she had had the option? Not an easy choice.

12 posted on 09/03/2006 2:19:58 PM PDT by detroitdarien
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To: sine_nomine
Your fingernails COULD go on to become clones of you if they were processed and implanted in a womb. The same applies to these cells. I'm not going to pretend that there are no moral implications of destroying the cells, I think there are greater implications to doing the in-vitro fertilization in the first place.
13 posted on 09/03/2006 2:21:53 PM PDT by free_at_jsl.com
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To: Coleus

Typical. Someone else's life isn't worth living if they (may) have a set of circumstances you wouldn't want. I wonder if the guy thinks his parents shouldn't have lived since they have colon cancer. I wonder if he develops it, will he regret having lived. I wonder what these people think sometimes. We are all going to die some day. Even if you can prolong it for decades, there's always the possibility of you just getting killed by younger people to get you out of the way. I guess you can live with principles or rationalizations.


14 posted on 09/03/2006 2:25:24 PM PDT by MichiganConservative (Government IS the problem.)
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To: detroitdarien
I'm sorry to hear of your sister's loss. It's heartbreaking to read about such things. My condolences to you and yours.
15 posted on 09/03/2006 2:25:30 PM PDT by free_at_jsl.com
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To: free_at_jsl.com

Yes I have that clear right, i am a thinking human being after all. Sorry.In objective reality you are pro-life only after implantation of an embryo. This isn't a subjective issue. It is an objective reality that you don't accept that life begins at conception. If you are offended, oh well. Sorry, you are not pro-life.


16 posted on 09/03/2006 2:27:28 PM PDT by The Cuban
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To: free_at_jsl.com

That's the most sane post I've read on one of these threads in a long time. Good for you.


17 posted on 09/03/2006 2:28:09 PM PDT by Hildy
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To: sine_nomine

They are cells in a petri dish...


18 posted on 09/03/2006 2:28:39 PM PDT by Hildy
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To: The Cuban
How would you define "conception" in this case? See my previous post. These embryos were "conceived" in a test tube and would never survive without a mother.
19 posted on 09/03/2006 2:29:10 PM PDT by free_at_jsl.com
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To: Coleus

This is just Eigenics at an earlier stage than was available before. Oh I know they will say it does prevent human suffering including that of the child, parents and society.


20 posted on 09/03/2006 2:31:51 PM PDT by therut
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