As of today, Britain’s Parliament officially voted “yes” to performing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with DNA from three different parents. Yes, three.
The technique, called mitochondrial donation, or three-parent IVF, involves handpicking DNA from a mother, a father and another female donor, NBC News reports. The method was created as a way to reduce the chances of a baby inheriting a debilitating mitochondrial disease, which result from mutated DNA passed down on the mother’s side and can cause all types of dangerous health conditions.
Those who think this unique form of IVF is way too bizarre or morally wrong refer to it as creating “designer babies.” Others point out how the process isn’t meant to be used by the everyday couple trying to conceive. Instead, it’s meant to be a safeguard for parents to ensure their kids don’t inherit untreatable and debilitating genetic diseases. Plus, the Washington Post pointed out, the babies only have around 0.1 percent of the third parent’s DNA, so technically it might make more sense to call them a very distant cousin instead of a parent.
There’s still more research being done to finetune the process (surely some legal ramification sneed to be sorted out) and there’s one more level of voting it needs to pass before it can officially begin. But it might not be too much longer until these “designer babies” start being conceived — so you better start picking who you want to be your third parent now, Brits!