ABSTRACT
Since the 1970s, embryologists and human geneticists have placed great importance on and have applied much of their research funding to understanding developmental processes, for example, how a fertilized egg becomes a biologically complex human being. The former provides scientists access to embryos outside the woman's body and under laboratory conditions; the latter provides the research tools for studying the genes and related processes. In November 1986, about thirty scientists and clinicians met at the CIBA Foundation in London to discuss whether it was possible to diagnose genetic conditions in two-day old human embryos. Embryo genetic testing or screening is an example of the new possibilities in genetic intervention brought about by reproductive embryo research. Early scientific arguments for the gene manipulation of embryos include that from the leading British embryologist Ann McLaren, who maintains that in the long run it is not enough to provide a "cellular crutch" for genetically defective embryos so that they may survive and reproduce.
