While at the gym today, I was intrigued by a story on the news about a "designer baby" that was born in the UK. What it means is that this child was genetically selected to be free of breast cancer. There were 11 embryos and a cell from each was removed when they were 3 days old. Six of the embryos were found to have the gene that could cause breast cancer. Two of them that did not show the gene, were implanted.
I wasn't sure how I first felt about this story. I don't think it's "right" to tamper with this sort of thing, but it wasn't as if they were changing anything per se. Just "discarding," in my mind, the opportunity of having more children because the six embryos could possibly have cancer later in life. You have to also know that the family (mostly on the father's side,) has a long history of breast and ovarian cancer so they felt that this was a route that they had to take. Again, I could see not wanting to have your child suffer a potentially fatal disease later in life, but I'm of the mind set that things happen for a reason. Of course, it's easier for me to say this as I don't have or know anyone who's had to go through breast cancer. I most likely would have a different disposition if I had someone close to me who had to go through this disease.
I'm coming from the position of a person who has to go through IVF to get pregnant and would be ecstatic to have a child. I think it's okay to test the child or embryos to know of different complications that could arise to be prepared and keep an eye out on things as the child grows, but not to discard it if it could potentially have illnesses - fatal or otherwise. I have to admit, I feel very blessed to have such a healthy child as Makenna, and that we were able to have her on our first IVF try.
Just another typical Friday for Makenna and myself. She did pick up a new word at lunch time today which was "mato" for tomato. I made her noodles and it had a tomato sauce with chunks of tomato and she was asking what it was and I told her but she kept saying "mato." She also tried saying the word scorpion today. I don't remember how it sounded.
She's also wanting her dolly more and more. She was upset that I had left it upstairs from nap time and made me go get it. She then hugged and kissed it when I brought it down. She wants it to go to bed with her. I find it interesting that all of a sudden, she's really taking a liking to this doll. When she first got it for her birthday, she could care less. She even wanted to put a diaper on it and wash it in the sink today. I explained that dolly was a big girl and didn't need diapers and that she uses the potty. Makenna just told me that dolly was "stinky - p.u.!"
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