Hey-ho for medical science and open-minded MP’s.

British parliament has voted in favour of “three-person babies”, with the next step being approval from the House of Lords.

(It’s not illegal to have a three-person baby, it’s just not registered as legal yet and is not prohibited.)

What is a three-person baby? It’s pretty great, actually. Doctors would take the DNA from both parents and combine it with “the healthy mitochondria of a female donor”. This will help in reducing the odds of “an embryo developing mitochondrial disease“.

Though scientists say full validation of the process can only come after it has been trialled on a human, signs are positive that it will be successful in providing a major step forward in reducing the number affected by the disease.

The stats for babies born with the defect are astounding – 4 000 children in the US and 6 500 in the UK every day.

Currently there are no laws prohibiting the three-person baby, but it has been condemned by the Church, obviously, and always thought quite taboo. Hopefully this “ruling” will be a massive step forward.

The move does start the debate about “designer babies”. You can read this worst case scenario novel about it and decide for yourself.

Sharon Bernardi, a mother who lost seven children because of mitochondrial disease explains that “We’re not playing God. This is trying to make children survive.”

[Source: The Daily Beast]