The Controversial Rise of Genetic Screening for Embryos: Are We Creating ‘Superbabies’?
A new startup in the United States is stirring significant ethical debate by offering wealthy couples the option to screen embryos for intelligence and other desirable genetic traits. Heliospect Genomics is charging as much as $50,000 to analyze up to 100 embryos, claiming that their technology can identify embryos with IQ scores potentially six points higher than those conceived naturally.
How Genetic Screening Works
Heliospect has reportedly collaborated with over a dozen couples, as revealed in undercover footage obtained by a research group. During a video call in November 2023, CEO Michael Christensen expressed confidence in the potential of this technology, stating, “Everyone can have all the children they want, and they can have children that are basically disease-free, smart, healthy; it’s going to be great.”
The company utilizes a method known as polygenic scoring, which allows parents to rank embryos based on a variety of traits, including IQ, sex, height, and susceptibility to conditions such as obesity and mental illness. This scoring system relies on data from the UK Biobank, a genetic repository containing information from half a million volunteers in the UK.
The Legal and Ethical Landscape
While the practice of selecting embryos based on predicted high IQ is prohibited in the UK, it remains legal in the United States, despite the technology not yet being widely available commercially. This situation has raised alarms among geneticists and bioethicists, who argue that such practices could reinforce dangerous ideas about genetic superiority and inferiority.
Organizations like Hope Not Hate have linked some employees of Heliospect to individuals and publications advocating for scientific racism, which posits that different races possess inherently varying levels of intelligence and morality based on genetics. Katie Hasson, from the Center for Genetics and Society in California, cautioned that such embryo selection technologies could perpetuate the notion that social inequality is rooted in biology, rather than systemic factors.
Heliospect’s Claims and Future Aspirations
Heliospect has not responded to requests for comments regarding these ethical concerns but maintains that it operates within legal boundaries. The company is currently in a “stealth mode” phase, developing its services for a future public launch. They also mentioned that couples who screened fewer embryos were charged around $4,000 for the service.
On recorded calls, Heliospect’s team elaborated on their polygenic scoring service, which employs algorithms to analyze genetic data from parents to predict the traits of their embryos. While Heliospect does not provide IVF services, Christensen hinted at ambitious future developments, suggesting that lab-grown eggs could enable the production of embryos on an industrial scale, allowing for selective breeding of traits.
Addressing Concerns and Looking Ahead
Christensen raised eyebrows by suggesting future technologies may extend to screening for personality traits, even mentioning aspects of the “dark triad”—which includes machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—as potential areas of interest. He also acknowledged that physical attractiveness is a concern for many prospective parents.
Despite these bold claims, Heliospect has clarified that it does not endorse large-scale egg or embryo production nor plans to offer personality screening services. Among its team is Jonathan Anomaly, a philosopher known for advocating “liberal eugenics,” a concept suggesting that parents should utilize genetic technologies to enhance their children’s prospects.
As Heliospect gained access to UK Biobank data in June 2023, concerns were raised about the ethical implications of this usage, particularly regarding the screening of embryos based on intelligence. Bioethicist Hank Greely from Stanford University emphasized that there may need to be stricter regulations on access to genetic databases like UK Biobank to address these ethical dilemmas.
In response to the surrounding controversy, Heliospect has pledged to engage in public education, policy discussions, and informed debates about the implications of preimplantation embryonic screening, emphasizing their belief in the technology’s potential to benefit society.
