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Irish Designer Baby’s Stem Cells a Perfect Match for Ill Brother

MOIRA, August 4, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The UK’s first “designer baby,” created specifically as a tissue donor has been born and her stem cells harvested to treat her critically ill brother. Three week old Jodie Fletcher is a perfect tissue match for her five-year old brother, Joshua who suffers from a rare, incurable blood disorder, called Diamond Blackfan anaemia (DBA). Jodie is the result of genetically screened in vitro fertilization and was created with the permission of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) of the UK. 

Dr. Mohammed Taranissi, Director of the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London, created Jodie and when she was born by cesarean section, her stem cells were collected from her umbilical cord blood. These will be used in treating her older brother’s illness.

Their mother, Julia Fletcher, of Moira, Northern Ireland, is jubilant and hopes for a cure for Joshua. Shortly after the birth, Julie said they “really wanted” the baby and were “delighted” it was a “healthy wee girl.”

While it is impossible to begrudge the family of a critically ill child the chance to see a near-miraculous cure – especially from an ethical source such as umbilical cord blood – the creation of a human being not for her own sake but for some utilitarian purpose, strikes a warning note to many. Because it also involves in vitro fertilization, pro-life groups have strongly condemned the HFEA decision.

In July 2004 Paul Tully, general secretary of Britain’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said, “We have every sympathy for Joshua Fletcher and his family. However, it cannot be right to create a child with the primary purpose of benefiting an elder brother.”

Julie Fletcher’s use of the phrase, “wanted baby,” moreover, rings an ominous note to pro-lifers. In our times of unrestricted abortion, only “wanted” children are allowed to live. In fact, Peter Singer the leading proponent of Bioethics at Princeton University has written that the moral and legal status of a baby is entirely a matter of its “wantedness.” Singer has suggested that parents be allowed up to thirty days following birth to decide if a child is wanted enough to be allowed to live.

In the case of Jodie Fletcher, while pro-lifers rejoice that the child was born and is healthy, a question is inevitably raised as to whether all children created for such purposes will be as lucky as Jodie. Nine embryos were created altogether and Jodie was the only girl. Her father, Joe Fletcher said, “The odds were so against having a girl. Julie always wanted a girl.”

No information was available as to the fate of the other embryonic children. SPUC’s Paul Tully commented, “The designer baby may be allowed his or her right to live, but that same right will be denied to his embryonic brothers and sisters. These unwanted embryonic siblings could be flushed down the sink, frozen or used for experiments.”

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Fertility Doctor Seeks Permission to Create a Designer Baby for use as a Tissue Farm
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/apr/04041302.html

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