Ronald Bailey Argues that Practicing Virtual Eugenics Is Just Great

Childbearing is a lottery. The good
news is that most babies are winners who are born without major
structural or genetic birth defects. But wouldn’t it be good to
stack the odds further in favor of having a healthy baby? That’s
the aim of the new genetic testing company GenePeeks. The company’s
Matchright service simulates fertilization by combining genetic
screening information from women wanting to use donated sperm with
the same information from donors to generate the genomes of
thousands of virtual children. Based on that information, the
company steers women clients toward donors with whom they are more
likely to have healthy children. While some object and trot out the
tired “designer baby” trope, Reason Science Correspondent
Ronald Bailey argues that there is no good reason to stand in the
way of prospective parents who want to use this technology to
increase the odds that their kids will be born healthy.

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