DNA tests that can virtually eliminate parents’ chances of having a baby with an inherited disease are to be given ethical approval today by the Government’s genetics watchdog.
The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) will reject controversy over the tests, which identify whether couples share genetic mutations that can trigger disease in their children, to say that there are no ethical, legal or social reasons why the NHS should not offer them routinely.
Its report, seen by The Times, could clear the way for mass NHS screening of young people before they become parents to prevent the birth of children with life-threatening inherited conditions such as cystic fibrosis and sickle-cell disease. Such tests are currently available only to people whose family history or ethnicity suggest