Worldwide, scientists are experimenting with the potential for human life at an ever more frantic pace. Participants at a European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Madrid this month announced the prospects for human womb transplants, including possibly in men; the cultivation of follicles to develop egg cells from an aborted fetus; and the creation of hybrid male-female embryos. For the last experiment, which was conducted in Chicago, scientists injected male cells into female embryos to create the hermaphrodites, which were destroyed several days later.
Some of this seemingly bizarre research may indeed have valuable medical applications. Nevertheless, at present no authoritative mechanism exists for monitoring it. Reproductive experimentation in this country in some cases remains veiled in secrecy, without uniform standards and removed from the oversight of universities or other accountable bodies. While professional organizations such as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine have set up reasonable guidelines, they have no means of ensuring the guidelines will be enforced. And rogue researchers can sidestep such rules entirely simply by not joining responsible umbrella groups. The ambiguity and lawlessness open the door for the exploitation of families searching for a cure for a disease or infertility.
That the President's Council on Bioethics has explored this problem is a solid first step, and we hope it will now issue recommendations on limitations and guidelines for biotechnologies that inolve the beginnings of human life. Assisted reproduction and other cutting-edge technologies have helped thousands of families have children, and many researchers are working hard to bring healthy new lives into the world. But some variants of human reproduction simply should not be attempted. We need a serious discussion as to what will remain out of bounds.
