Genetic Editing as a Possibility of Same-sex Parents to Have Children

Introduction

Will humans be able to edit our genes to decrease the risk of certain genetic defects being passed down through generations, or will we be able to give same-sex couples the opportunity to have their own genetic children? Genetic editing has been the basis of many science-fiction movies such as Gattaca, a movie where science has progressed to the point that children are conceived through genetic selection to give parents the healthy child they desire, and movies such as the X-Men franchise where mutants exist both due to experiments and biological Darwinism. However, genetic editing is not just about editing the genes of humans or animals; it also includes plants. An example of this would be editing genomes in plants to advance crop transformation.

Advancements in Genetic Editing

Every day there are new advancements in genetic editing, and therefore new possibilities are brought forth through these advancements. One such possibility is that of same-sex parents having their own genetic children. One example of an advancement in genetic editing comes from China. A group of scientists successfully edited the genetics of same-sex mouse parents to allow them to give birth to their own genetic children (Li et al., 2018). This advancement means that eventually, same-sex couples might be able to have their own children without the need for artificial insemination or surrogacy. Reproduction by parthenogenesis or gynogenesis exists in vertebrates such as fish, reptiles, and amphibians, but it doesn’t exist in mammals. The article states that, “In the 1980s, elegant pronuclear transplantation experiments performed by the Solter and Surani laboratories suggested that mouse development required both maternal and paternal contributions, which implied the presence of genetic asymmetries of two parental chromosomes” (Li et al., 2018).

The Experiment

The experiment attempted to create both bimaternal mice, mice with two female parents, and bipaternal mice, mice with two male parents. In order to create healthy young, the researchers had to cut specific locations in their genetics using ‘molecular scissors’ known as CRISPR-Cas9. In bimaternal mice, they cut out three locations, and in bipaternal mice, they cut out seven locations (Li et al., 2018). After this step, the researchers moved the altered cells into an unchanged immature egg for the female mice and then implanted the egg into a surrogate so it could develop.

Challenges in Bipaternal Reproduction

The creation of bipaternal mice in this experiment was more difficult since, for an embryo to be created, there must be an egg. For the male mice, researchers injected the sperm and the stem cells into an immature egg that was stripped of its nucleus. In order for the modified egg to grow, they had to foster its growth outside of a uterus before implanting it into a surrogate. The difficulty of creating bipaternal children is not only present in the experiment where lab fertilization techniques are used, but successful reproduction of two males in the wild is extremely rare and can only be found in certain fish under experimental conditions (Li et al., 2018). Once the experiment concluded, there were 29 healthy pups born. These pups lived to adulthood and even had offspring of their own; however, there were 210 embryos used in total, which suggests that the process was inefficient (Li et al., 2018).

Significance for the Scientific Community

Why is this experiment important to the scientific community? The experiment provided the scientific community with the factors needed to overcome the barriers present for same-sex reproduction in mammals. This experiment gives hope to human same-sex parents that one day they might be able to have their own children if the process is improved and works well in larger mammals (Li et al., 2018). Although the researchers caution that we are still a long way from replicating this experiment successfully in human beings, it marks a significant step forward in reproductive science.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the advancements in genetic editing present exciting possibilities for the future of reproduction, particularly for same-sex couples. While the technology is still in its infancy, the potential to rewrite genetic barriers offers hope and new avenues for scientific exploration. As research continues, the dream of same-sex couples having their own genetic children may someday become a reality.

References

Li, Z., et al. (2018). Production of viable offspring derived from single uniparental embryos. Nature Communications, 9, Article 1206. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03583-5