“Procreative Beneficence and in Vitro Gametogenesis”, 2012-09-01 (; backlinks; similar):
The Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PB) holds that when a couple plans to have a child, they have substantial moral reason to select, of the possible children they could have, the child who is most likely to experience the greatest wellbeing—that is, the most advantaged child, the child with the best chance at the best life…In this paper we wish address a different and more practical objection: the objection that parents will be heavily restricted in the number of traits that they can select, since they will have to choose among a very limited number of embryos.
Recent advances in stem cell research may provide a solution to this problem. Recent research suggests that it may become possible to derive gametes (eggs and sperm) from human stem cells in vitro, a process which we will term in vitro gametogenesis (IVG). IVG would allow the creation of stems cells from a patient’s somatic (body) cells, and these stems cells could then be used to generate a plentiful supply of eggs or sperm in the laboratory…The ability to create large numbers of eggs or sperm through IVG greatly increases our capacity to select the best child possible. Selection could occur in two ways: (1) the most genetically desirable of this massive number of gametes could be selected and then used to create an embryo, or alternatively, (2) large numbers of embryos could be produced from these gametes and then the best embryo selected. Whatever the method, the advent of IVG could allow us to select for a much larger number of traits than is currently conceivable.
…Suppose that a couple would like to select for 20 single gene traits which are carried on 20 different and unlinked autosomal loci. Suppose further that at ten of these loci, alleles contribute recessively to the desired trait…The chance of the couple having such a child would be just over 1% with traditional IVF plus selection, but would increased to over 99.99% if 10,000 embryos could be created using IVG.
…By enabling the creation of large numbers of gametes and embryos, IVG may allow the selection of traits in future children to a degree that has previously been inconceivable.