The process is used on all embryos in some American clinics to screen out specific genetic defects. As more genes are identified, it will be possible to perform more sophisticated tests on embryos. Edwards was speaking at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in France, as doctors in Britain finalize proposals for the first comprehensive national screening program for Down's syndrome in all unborn babies. Some people believe Edwards's comments reflect the views of most British doctors, and that women will be increasingly pressed into agreeing to the termination of affected pregnancies. It is extremely common for women to be offered terminations for abnormality.
Some hospitals even offer to abort fetuses with defects that can be corrected, such as cleft palate.
She enjoys an independent life in a London flat she shares with her boyfriend. I think getting rid of a baby because it has Down's is wrong. It's something you just don't do to children. July 1999 Details of the first human embryo to be cloned have been released. The watershed achievement in biotechnology actually happened last November, but more information was revealed recently.