Indian doctor: London stop the new eugenics, it is immoral and dangerous
Mumbai (AsiaNews)
- "Creating designer babies is alarming, immoral and dangerous. These
experiments are a return of eugenics" says Pascoal Carvalho, a doctor in Mumbai
and member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Commenting on the news that UK the is about to become the first country
in the world to legalize in vitro fertilization with three different donors:
the mother, the father and a
"donor" to
AsiaNews he says "human genetic engineering is a reality and that the science
of eugenics has now been validated beyond question - it has definite potential
for being misused." ."
According
to British researchers working on the project, in "three way" invitro
fertilization eliminates the so-called "mitochondrial diseases", a
series of genetic defects transmitted only from mother to child. The
female egg is composed of a core, inside which is located the mitochondrion,
organelle that provides energy during the cell multiplication, which will then
form the fetus in all its parts (organs, tissues, muscles, etc.).. In
case of problems with the mitochondria, the energy necessary for the
development of cells in an embryo is reduced, thus giving rise to possible
defects in the fetus. However,
the mitochondrion itself does not determine the physical or genetic characteristics
of the embryo.
Dr. Carvalho,
who has obtained a degree in Immunology, explains how in vitro fertilization
with three donors works. In
this IVF treatment, the mitochondria of the original egg is removed if there is
a defect, and replaced by mitochondria from a healthy woman, minimising the
chances of genetically-transmitted birth defects". At this point the egg
"compound" is fertilized with the sperm of the father. The
problem, notes the doctor, "is that even though most of the DNA is located
in the chromosomes of the nucleus, the mitochondria also has a 'its' DNA, known
as 'mitochondrial DNA'." This
genetic material "contains 37 genes, all essential to the proper
functioning of mitochondria. For this reason, some features of the 'third
parent' could be passed on".
Carvalho,
who is also a member of the diocesan commission for human life, specifies:
"Thousands of embryos will need to be produced and experimented upon in
developing these techniques. The destruction of embryos in the IVF process
requires the destruction of human which is sacred." "Besides
- he said - certain limits have already been exceeded. We are already witness
to moving boundaries with other IVF-related technologies, IVF already allows
doctors to do genetic testing prior to implantation. Gender selection is
possible, and with further technical refinements genetic
"enhancements" might become an option."
In
vitro fertilization is much debated in India, which has become a destination
for medical tourism for years thanks to a vague regulation on the subject. In
particular, surrogacy is increasingly widespread in the country: legalized by
the Supreme Court in 2002, today it is a million dollar industry. In
Mumbai alone there are between 70 and 80 centers for assisted reproduction and
just over 200 in the State of Maharashtra. Recently,
Shah Rukh Khan, a Bollywood superstar, and his wife had their third child
through a surrogate mother, opening a major debate across the country.
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24/10/2019 17:56
09/04/2019 13:19
