Preimplantation genetic diagnosis & genetic modification

The purpose of this project is to produce several professional articles that identify and analyze the ethical, legal, and social issues that surround screening and altering human embryos, thus helping society and relevant decision-makers come to grips with these issues. Year 1 of the project will focus on embryo screening as a form of negative genetic selection, and its use in screening embryos for transfer based on reasons other than avoidance of severe genetic disease, i.e., for susceptibility mutations, for HLA matching, for gender, and for non-medical traits. Year 2 will then address the ethical, legal, and social issues that arise in positive genetic selection by genetic targeting of embryos. It will explore whether prevailing conceptions of procreative and family liberty include the right of prospective parents to alter or modify the genome of offspring for medical or non-medical purposes.