I’m sorry, but I am dissapointed that this trend is so popular….it seems to me that what that doctor is trying to do is play God. We should not be able to pick the sex of our baby or the characteristics we want them to have! That’s God’s job. It always has been and it always should be. if you ask me, science has gone too far this time. I’m not one of those radical Christians who believe that science as a whole is bad, but on this topic yes it’s bad. I would love to hear what everyone else thinks about this…please reply!

I think this topic is great because like the couple on the show is so like many other couples- i have 3 girls and would love to have a boy have been trying for 6mths to get pregnant and still nothing. It would be great to find out the info on the doctor that does this. Anyone know info please respond…

This makes me very uncomfortable – it could all too easily become genetic selection. Some things in life should just happen as they do. If you are given all girls, maybe there is a reason for it – something you are supposed to learn. We all try to be way too controlling of every little detail in our lives! In the meantime, there are hundreds of little boys out there waiting to be adopted. We had one biological son, then were told that I should not carry another child due to health problems. We decided to adopt, and waited 3 years for a little girl – then when we heard how many boys, especially African-American boys, are left to foster homes without ever getting a permanent family of their own, we changed our mind. We have never regretted it, and do not think of our son any differently than our first child. And do I ever miss having a daughter? No – I have the children I was meant to have, and I’m loving every minute with both of them! The money spent on this procedure could go a long way towards adopting a child who really needs you!!

One of the biggest problems I have with this procedure is what happens to the embryos that were NOT chosen. The Dr. never said. He SAID they were not thrown away, but what DOES happen to them? It’s murder to throw away a baby, no matter what stage of growth it is in. Just as abortion is murder.

~ People should not be so greedy about whkat kind of miracles they are given. They should take what they get. As if four kids isnt enough.

~ This society is not accepting of transgendered people or can’t even accept the fact that peoples gender types arent as simple as being male/female. Geneticly modifying an embryo from its original sex is most certainly asking for both of those occurrences to happen more frequently. Ask yourself, would you realy want to explain to your teenager why they hate themselves for being born so confused about their gender.

~ How dare you all be so selfish. Why dont you use that money to adopt a child who would otherwise rot in some orphanage instead of being self righteous in buying your designer handbag, I mean baby.

~ the only acceptable use for this technology is to help people who cannot have children to have a starting chance, and to help identify illness or disease. That is it.

Anyone who thinks otherwise must really be quite a product of an ever deteriorating American mindset.

Why should it even be used to identify illness and disease? So the parents can decide whether THEY want to have a less than perfect child? So the baby can be killed off before it causes any inconvenience?

They claimed that they had 1,000 items to select from when choosing an embryo.  I would like to know what those items are.  On one hand, I’m afraid that we are going to engineer our children, but on the other hand, I’m thinking that perhaps to avoid genetic diseases would be a good thing.  I’m concerned that when they are able to develop the ability to identify sexuality, parents will rush to this service to insure that they only have heterosexual children.  Actually, wasn’t this what Hitler was trying to do to develop a super race.  I think we should be very careful.  Take your chances with the gender, eye and hair color.  Do it the old fashioned way. 

I’m not sure you can judge someone’s racial bent by one television appearance. Afterall, it’s not something they are used to doing, and could have just been overwhelmed and certainly distracted by all that was going on, don’t you think?

Just because some people would be happy with any child. Doesn’t mean that having a choice isn’t a good idea. I have 3 daughters and then had my tubes tied. If at any point I wanted to have another child it would have to be by invetro fertalization. so if I have to have my eggs put into a dish any ways why not only choose the sex of babies. And never did the Doctor say the other eggs get destroyed. I know of people who have gone through IF and they picked to just implant 2 of their 5 eggs and they picked one of each sex. after which the embrios were frozen just incase the others didn’t take. 

When you are pregnant and have the ultrsounds and the other testing done to see if your child has any of the inutero diseases you have the option of terminating the pregnancy. Why go through the heart ache of having that happen to people when instead you could do away with those diseases. Maybe choosing the eye colour and hair colour of a baby isn’t idesl but choosing to have a boy after having all girls or having a girl after having all boys would be thankful to some

In response to MDbound-This can be an excellent diagnostic tool that can be used in families like my own. My husband and I are currently in our third pregnancy with an affected baby of distal arthrogryposis (Pena-Shokier type). We are 16 weeks and will more than likely go into premature labor and deliver yet another stillborn baby, not to mention all of the complications that I have endured thus far. We are interested in finding out more information about this doctor and wonder if he could help us, especially since all of our genetic testing has turned up “normal” so far. That includes genetic testing on our second baby. In being MD bound, I’m sure you can understand the complications of pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, placenta previa, Factor V mutation and Factor VII deficiency. If we knew that this was going to happen every pregnancy we would not get pregnant anymore. We do not necessarily agree with using this as a tool for gender or hair color however we think there may be some good to come out of this type of testing. Not everybody is looking for the PERFECT baby, some of us just want to deliver a baby that lives.

There is point in science where you have to just stop and say no. Science should not be taking the position of God and that is what this is. How could you even dare ‘design’ your own child? The most exciting part of my pregnancy was anticipating the sex of my baby and also waiting to find out what he would look like. Sure being able to know your child’s chances of having a genetic disorder would be relatively nice, but you can NEVER be sure. There will never be a perfectly healthy baby.

why is everyone so hell bent on having the gerber baby anyways? Can’t you just be happy with what you get and realize that every child is unique and special no matter the gender, hair color, eye color?

It’s not up to US to terminate a life for our own convenience. If the baby does die, then God has allowed it. It is not OUR RIGHT, whether the baby is ill or not, to kill it. I know you are in pain, I have lost 4 myself, but I would never have chosen to end my baby’s life, even if I had known he would die anyway. You never know whether your baby will live or die, even when he’s 4 or 10, or 16. Would you choose to kill your baby in-utero, if you knew he would only live to be 4?

I could really not care what the sex, eye/hair colour of a baby is but I would rather have that chance of being able to not have the heart ache of finding out after a routine test during my pregnancy that my child had a disorder.  So rather than having people opt of of that situation by terminating those pregnancys which up here in Saskatchewan, Canada are covered under our Health Care because there is a problem with the pregnancy. And costing the tax payer money. To have your children pre pregnancy tested so that the individual pays for it rather than the society. And we end up with less selective abortions.  

And personally I knew what the sex of all 3 of my daughters at 18 weeks when I went for routine amnios and ultrasounds. I would never choose the sex hair/eye colour of my child but I did do routine inutero testing for genetic problems, it would have been heart breaking to find a problem after being pregnant, where as when its in a petree dish and they say this zygote has a genetic issue, its easier to deal with because every month we as women have period and each month one of our ‘potential’ children leaves our bodies so it wouldn’t be any different to me! 

And in response to there are lots of babies up for adoption. Yes lots of babies are out there and up for adoption. Even if you fall in love with that child some people just want their own

I personally think it is wonderful…not because you can choose the sex or characteristics, but because somebody like me who is high risk due to 2 heart attacks and 2 stents…and having to go through fertility treatments due to my high risk status, it will for me give me piece of mind to have a healthy baby and hopefully not have to struggle with heart disease and some other medical issues I have. I personally don’t care about the sex of the baby or it’s hair color or eye color….this is my one and only chance in life to have a child…so to me…it is and shouldn’t be considered a “designer baby” if you just want a healthy baby.

I do agree however it is going to far to pick the gender and the characteristics though. That is pushing it…having a happy, healthy baby is what this should be about for those who CANNOT conceive on thier own like me!!

I am so glad someone could spit out what I meant way better than I could. Thank You nininn

to fufubug77. I would like to respond to your uniformed statement about the “zygote in the petree dish”. The Doctors cannot test for any genetic information until the egg (which women lose in their periods) has been fertilized. A fertilized egg now has all that is necessary for our human bodies. If you discard it, you have now discarded a baby. It should be just as heartbreaking to lose those babies and it is to lose one you are carrying. God has formed that baby in His image, from the moment of fertilization. Even when Science has interfered.

Bratt girl I’m right with ya, I have 3 sons and long for a daughter. I don’t think you are throwing away babies, they don’t have a heart or brain yet! Yes they have the potential to become babies but have not made it there yet. This is america and women do still have a choice! I am also seeking more info if you find anything else out about this please post it. $$$

I also believe in God and his great creations but I do not believe a embrio zygote or any other group of dividing cells is a baby until it has a heart beat and I myself would not continue a pregnancy with a disable child, and all routine testing for it happens at 18 weeks in the Province I live in therefore that would be what some would consider a viable baby. Everyone person has the right to their own personal idea beliefs and decisions. We will be Judged in the end by The Creator and never does it say in the Bible there is a Black and White right and wrong. There are morals and belief and we all have the right to what we want to to do as all humans have the option to chose their own personal wants. And for your information a zygote is the first 6 weeks from the fertalization of the egg, the point right after the sperm penetrates and nests to start the division of cells, to when the divided cells attaches to the wall of the uterus.

I am not trying to say any one with their own opinion is wrong it is what it is YOUR opinion and this is mine. Do not tell me i am wrong because in the broad spectrum of things no one really knows who is right or who is wrong.  I am completely finished having children but being able to screen these dna clusters before they become babies is a great help to many people in our societies that have probmatic pregnancies, or better yet can’t have their own children, because not everyone wants to adopt.

This is an amazing thing they are doing, some of us think it’s messing with God, others don’t. As a proud mom of a 5 yr old, after many many failed attempts at costly fertility treatments, I don’t think it’s an act of god that my daughter is here, I think it’s modern science that helped me have her. My husband and I went into debt and got an amazing little girl! We have since tried to have another for the past four years ( I don’t think god would allow us to suffer month over month with disappointment) with no luck, we have tried feritility treatments, but can’t afford invetro so we have to do injections and artificial insem when we have the extra money. What is disappointing with this new procedure is that still tailors to those that are wealthy. I have great medical insurance however like most it doesn’t cover fertility treatments. Many people have said many many babies need adoptions, I would like to know where so many of these babies are that are not over 30K to adopt. It’s very sad how many people can’t have babies or try due to the crazy cost of fertility treatments, maybe the doctor who performs these designer babies can charge their wealthy clients a bigger fee and donate that to those that can’t afford invetro, just to give them hope they can at least try!

In reply to mastersona, maybe things have changed alot in the 7 years since we adopted our son, but our total cost was only around $12,000, which included our hotel room for 3 days, travel & food. I could give you the name of the very nice agent in Phily who we worked with. I know that IF and other fertility treatments would have cost us alot more. As for wanting your own child, I do understand that – and I am saying this as someone who went through some infertility treatments & had 1 biological son, and then adopted a second – they are both my own children! Being a parent is about loving and nurturing a child, not producing it. You have to go through the phase of mourning the loss of the dream you had about having a child biologically before you can accept adoption. But when they put that beautiful little baby (or toddler, or older child) into your arms, you are hooked! They look up at you with the same wonder as a biological child would, and wrap their little fingers around your finger – and your heart – in the same way. There are alot of websites out there for adoptions – and there are thousands of children looking for a home – if you go on to one, it will break your heart! Don’t they deserve love & a family of their own? I would love every family to adopt at least one – think of what that would do to change the future!!

I think this is an okay operation, as long as it’s guaranteed to be safe, and cause no harm or defects to the child.

I would only pick the gender though, I’d let God decide everything else.

Does anyone know what the doctors name was?? I have a friend who have a child with a handicap, and they really want another kid, but there is a 50/50 risk that the 2nd child allso will have a handicap!

You can find more information in the SHOW SYNOPSIS.