Paris, France – A journalistic investigation has revealed that a legal loophole in European legislation concerning genetic testing has allowed thousands of patients to send their embryos’ genetic data to the United States for advanced testing. This was done to circumvent the strict restrictions imposed in their European countries.
According to a report in the French newspaper Le Figaro, families undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in Europe face strict limitations. Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) is either prohibited or severely restricted. These families find a loophole in the law. This procedure allows for the transfer of genetic “data” rather than the biological “material” itself, which is not prohibited with the same rigor under European law.
The biological samples are sent to European laboratories whose sole task is to extract and digitally sequence the DNA. This data is then transmitted online to specialized laboratories in the United States. These laboratories analyze the data to determine whether the embryos are free of major genetic defects. The results are then sent back to doctors in Europe to make a decision regarding the appropriate embryo implantation.
This trend raises serious questions about the ethics of using genetic technology and the limits of legislative oversight in the face of rapid scientific progress, especially since the ultimate goal is to help parents choose healthier embryos, but through legally ambiguous channels.
