Regulating Preimplantation Genetic Testing across the World: A Comparison of International Policy and Ethical Perspectives
This paper was co-authored by PaSAGE team member Rosario Isasi.
Preimplantation genetic testing (PGD) is a reproductive technology. It allows potential parents to test the genes of their fertilized embryos. From these results, qualities of future children can be known. Depending on what qualities potential parents do or do not desire for their children, they can decide which embryos to implant during in vitro fertilization (IVF).
There is a lot of controversy surrounding this technology. This technology could be seen as a reproductive liberty. Reproductive liberty is an individual’s right to decide if, when, and how they want to have children. Some think that this technology is good, allowing future parents to ensure their children won’t suffer from a fatal disease, like Tay-Sachs disease. Some think that the technology is a slippery slope. If people can use this technology to prevent disease in children, how long before it is used for subjective traits, like eye color? Because people have many views about this technology, countries regulate it differently. This paper looks at how 19 countries around the world regulate PGD.
11 of the 19 countries this paper looked at regulated PGD with laws. These countries are Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Seven countries have a looser approach to managing PGD, only having guidelines. These countries are Australia, Brazil, China, Israel, Japan, Singapore, and the United States. Finally, one country had no known regulation for PGD. This was Mexico.
One of the most debated uses of PGD is nonmedical sex selection. In this practice, potential parents can test embryos to see what sex they are before they are implanted. If they only want a boy child, for example, only male embryos would be implanted. This practice is banned by law in 12 countries. It is prohibited by guidelines in an additional four countries. In Israel, it is allowed but only in limited situations. Finally, in the United States and Mexico it is not regulated.
Overall, the authors of this paper found a trend towards less restriction of PGD in countries around the world. This shift could be due to a few things: progress with the technology, changes in cultural attitudes, or changes in legal precedent.