Please respond to this case after you have completed your application and critique of your three chosen theories.
Britain now allows a 'three-parent' IVF technique which doctors say will prevent some inherited incurable diseases but which critics see as a step towards creating designer babies.
The treatment is known as 'three-parent' in vitro fertilisation (IVF) because the babies, born from genetically modified embryos, would have DNA from a mother, a father and from a female donor. It is designed to help families with mitochondrial diseases, incurable conditions passed down the maternal line that affect around one in 6,500 children worldwide.
The process involves intervening in the fertilisation process to remove mitochondria, which act as tiny energy-generating batteries inside cells, and which, if faulty, can cause inherited conditions such as fatal heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders, blindness and muscular dystrophy. Mitochondrial DNA is separate from DNA found in the cell nucleus and does not affect human characteristics such as hair or eye colour, appearance or personality traits.
While many advocacy groups and scientists have welcomed this advancement in technology, there are several critics from religious based groups who argue that all life should be protected and not used as disposable material. There are others who worry that this advancement will lead an age of ‘designer babies’.
Should this technology be legalised for use in New Zealand?
Adapted from : http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/03/us-health-babies-idUSKBN0L710B20150203 (Retrieved 3/02/2015)