[Breitbart] A new poll published in the journal Science shows growing support for the eugenics-based idea of selecting human embryos during in vitro fertilization (IVF) based on "intellectual aptitude," MIT Technology Review reported this month.IVF is an infertility treatment in which embryos are created outside the womb before being implanted in a mother’s uterus. Embryos, unborn human beings at the earliest stages of life, are often destroyed in the process, making IVF controversial for those in the pro-life movement who believe life begins at fertilization.
The new poll asked respondents their willingness to advance their children’s prospects in three ways: SAT prep courses, embryo tests, and gene editing on embryos. Thirty-eight percent said they would be willing to screen their embryos during IVF for likely intelligence levels, 68 percent would be willing to try an SAT prep course, and 28 percent said they would support gene editing, according to the report.
"I certainly don’t think this is something good. I am concerned about it," says Michelle N. Meyer, a professor of bioethics with the Geisinger Health System, who coauthored the report. "The bigger risk is saying nothing and letting this unfold against a laissez-faire regulatory and market system."
Antonio Regalado, the author of the MIT Technological Review article, compared the results of people who are willing to try genetic testing as "similar to the proportion of Americans who say they would consider an electric vehicle as their next car purchase."