Fertility doc backs off on custom kids
By United Press International,
United Press International
| 03. 04. 2009
A New York fertility doctor says he will be limiting his genetics work to dodging diseases rather than customizing physical traits such as hair and eye color.
Dr. Jeff Steinberg caused a stir this week with claims that he could help parents predetermine various characteristics of future offspring but the New York Daily News said Wednesday he is holding off for the time being.
"We are going to limit it to people with genetic diseases because we just cannot keep up with what's going on," Steinberg said.
Steinberg's clinics in New York and Los Angeles will be focusing on such disorders as color blindness and albinism, the newspaper said.
The Daily News said word of Steinberg's ability to select embryos with desirable physical traits and gender appalled some New York parents while others thought it was a great idea.
Related Articles
By Josie Ensor, The Times | 12.09.2025
A fertility start-up that promises to screen embryos to give would-be parents their “best baby” has come under fire for a “misuse of science”.
Nucleus Genomics describes its mission as “IVF for genetic optimisation”, offering advanced embryo testing that allows...
By Hannah Devlin, The Guardian | 12.06.2025
Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned.
The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA...
By Vardit Ravitsky, The Hastings Center | 12.04.2025
Embryo testing is advancing fast—but how far is too far? How and where do we draw the line between preventing disease and selecting for “desirable” traits? What are the ethical implications for parents, children, clinicians, and society at large? These...
By Grace Won, KQED Forum [with CGS' Katie Hasson] | 12.02.2025
In the U.S., it’s illegal to edit genes in human embryos with the intention of creating a genetically engineered baby. But according to the Wall Street Journal, Bay Area startups are focused on just that. It wouldn’t be the first...
