Designing Babies: How Technology is Changing How We Create Children

In Vitro Fertilization, Pre-implantation Diagnosis and other Assisted Reproductive Technologies have permitted thousands of infertile individuals, gay and lesbian couples, single parents, and others to have offspring. Prospective parents can now avoid passing on certain genes to their children, and routinely choose the sex of their future child and whether to have twins. Yet these technologies pose complex ethical, legal, social, and policy concerns. Based on in-depth interviews with providers and patients, this talk will explore how patients and providers view and address the critical questions they confront.

For more information or to convey suggestions about future speakers, please contact Paul S. Appelbaum, MD, Director, Division of Law, Ethics, and Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, at 646-774-8630 or psa21 [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu (psa21[at]columbia[dot]edu).