Ronald Bailey Argues that Practicing Virtual Eugenics Is Just Great
Childbearing is a lottery. The good news is that most babies are winners who are born without major structural or genetic birth defects. But wouldn't it be good to stack the odds further in favor of having a healthy baby? That's the aim of the new genetic testing company GenePeeks. The company's Matchright service simulates fertilization by combining genetic screening information from women wanting to use donated sperm with the same information from donors to generate the genomes of thousands of virtual children. Based on that information, the company steers women clients toward donors with whom they are more likely to have healthy children. While some object and trot out the tired "designer baby" trope, Reason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey argues that there is no good reason to stand in the way of prospective parents who want to use this technology to increase the odds that their kids will be born healthy.