- With pre-implantation diagnostics (PGD), an embryo is specifically examined before it is implanted in the uterus.
- The Swiss electorate clearly accepted the introduction of PGD in 2015 at the ballot box, despite an emotional voting battle.
- At the time, opponents warned of designer babies and the difficult decision between a life worth living and a life not worth living. PGD has now been used for five years. With what experiences?
The implementation of the pre-implantation diagnostics PGD took some time, says Michael von Wolff, head of the fertility center at the Inselspital in Bern: “In the meantime, however, it has become established in almost all centers in Switzerland to carry out these different techniques.”
In Switzerland, PGD is only permitted for couples with severe hereditary diseases and for infertile couples who want to increase their chances of a successful pregnancy. There are only a few who have the fertilized egg cells examined: the federal government reports around 350 PID treatments for the year 2020.
What is a “serious illness”?
Since the legal requirements are openly formulated, the centers exchange information on PGD. In addition, various bodies have formulated guidelines and recommendations, most recently the National Ethics Committee this summer. They show the sticking points in the law. The most important point is to define what a serious illness is.
Legend:
The Swiss electorate was able to vote twice on the introduction of PGD, twice it was a clear yes, despite an emotional voting battle.
Keystone/Walter Biei
Bernhard Rütsche, member of the ethics committee and professor of public law at the University of Lucerne, explains that the committee does not focus on the child, but on the parents. “Namely that it would be an unreasonable burden for the intended parents to have and raise a child with such an illness. These include, for example, significant, not just temporary limitations in cognitive abilities, chronic intense pain or a significantly reduced life expectancy.”
Our concerns about preimplantation diagnosis are still there.
Disabled organizations criticize this view as too medical. For Insieme, Deputy Managing Director Jan Habegger says: “Our concerns about pre-implantation diagnostics are still there. Especially since it automatically makes a distinction between a life worth living and a life not worth living.”
Five years after preimplantation diagnostics came into force, it is clear that there are few examinations of genetic material and chromosomes. The law leaves a certain amount of leeway that needs to be specified. And the fundamental criticism has not stopped.