This House Would Design Its Own Baby | Cambridge Union
With scientific progress outstripping the pace of ethical discussion, the Union asks whether it would be prepared for a future where it could design its own child. Genetic screening, sex-selection, and the ultimate scientific goal of genetic alteration are all up for discussion as we question the ethics of designer babies. ****************** PROPOSITION ****************** Robin Lovell-Badge is Group Leader and Head of the Division of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics at The Francis Crick Institute. Tom Whipple is the science correspondent and a feature writer at The Times. He is also a former student at Cambridge University. Dagan Wells is a Group Leader and Associate Professor at the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He is an expert in preimplantation genetic diagnosis. **************** OPPOSITION **************** Shirley Hodgson is a leading British geneticist and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. She currently works at St George's, University of London. Hilary Burton is the director of the PHG Foundation, an independent non-profit genetics and policy think-tank. She is also a Fellow of Hughes Hall. Julian Huppert is a Fellow of Clare College and a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He was formerly the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge.
