The Morning Edition

Designer babies: Healthier, better DNA? Or a gateway to eugenics?

Date: February 22, 2026
Host: Samantha Selinger-Morris
Guest: Angus Dalton (Science Reporter)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the rise of "designer babies"—the growing international market for selecting embryos based on a vast range of genetic traits, not just to prevent diseases, but to influence height, intelligence, and more. Host Samantha Selinger-Morris speaks with science reporter Angus Dalton about how Australians are engaging with controversial genetic tests abroad, the current state of regulations, and the challenging ethical questions arising from these technologies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Cover Designer Babies Now?

• Australian Laws & Overseas Markets (01:08–03:15)
  • Sex selection via IVF is banned in Australia except for clear medical reasons.
  • A Californian IVF doctor visited Australia, encouraging parents to travel to the US for sex selection.
  • The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) claims public views on sex selection aren’t sufficiently researched in Australia.
    • Angus Dalton: "So that made me think, ok ... maybe this isn't on people's radar unless they're actively undergoing IVF or considering it." (02:20)

2. The New Frontier: Polygenic Risk Scores

• How the Technology Works (03:15–06:16)
  • Polygenic risk tests offer prospective parents a "menu" of possible embryos, detailing probabilities of an array of traits—risk of diseases, future height, intelligence, even likelihood of criminal behavior or acne.
  • US companies like Nucleus Genomics aggressively market these services:
    • "Have a smarter baby. ...Preview your future baby. Have your best baby..." (05:12)
  • Angus Dalton: "I don't know how anyone makes that decision, Sam, but this is sort of what the technology is looking like at the moment." (05:55)
• Australian Couple's Example (06:16–08:19)
  • One couple plans to have 10 children, testing up to 80 embryos and prioritizing those with better health or higher intelligence for homeschooling ease.
  • Limitation: These tests claim to predict IQ, but geneticists say they can't account for environmental factors—upbringing, nutrition, education, stress.

3. Australian IVF Guidelines

• Current Regulations (08:19–10:12)
  • Only single-gene disorders (e.g., cystic fibrosis) can be screened.
  • Polygenic risk scores lack scientific support and clinical effectiveness; thus, cannot be offered in Australia.
  • Regulations are sharper in Australia than the largely unregulated US market.

4. Core Ethical Questions (10:24–18:48)

Access, Equity & Racial Disparity

• Cost Barriers: Around $2,500 per embryo; only accessible to the wealthy.
• Racial Inequality in Genomics:
  • 78% of available genomic data is from European populations. Tests are designed for, and work best on, people of European descent.
    • Angus Dalton: "This is a technology only accessible to the white and wealthy." (11:50–12:20)
  • Non-Europeans get less accurate results; a clear example of systemic bias in medical technology.

Legal & Practical Concerns

• Probabilistic, Not Deterministic (12:53–14:00):
  • There's no guarantee—only probabilities.
  • IVF clinics worry about lawsuits if the child does not meet projected traits.
    • Paraphrased NYT quote: What if you select for “tall, beautiful and smart” but the child is not as expected?

Societal Impacts & Parental Pressure

• Shifting Definitions of "Normal" and "Acceptable" (14:00–16:53):
  • Risk of increasing stigma against traits like autism; fuels debate over what counts as a “disorder” versus diverse cognitive traits.
  • Dr. Joseph Scroy (Melbourne IVF Doctor) quote via Dalton:
    • "We live in this society that's like Instagramifiable, everything's gotta be perfect ... but the whole point ... is embracing diversity and ... the random dice roll of nature." (14:33)
  • Parental expectations may become even more intense—kids could be burdened by pre-birth projections.

Existential Questions on Humanity

• What Would Have Happened to Us?
  • Dalton reflects as an IVF baby:
    • "What if our parents had used this technology? What would their parameters have been? We mightn't be here." (15:47)
  • Ongoing genetic “optimization” risks intensifying social divides—each generation compared to a new standard of “perfection.”

Eugenics Comparison & Darker Ethical Legacy

• Dr. Chai Khami (Hebrew University, genetic statistician) perspective (17:26–18:48):
  • "It may worsen the way society treats those with non-optimal traits. This frequently relates to the 20th century Eugenics movement ... a similar way of thinking—in quote marks improving the human gene pool—ended up with the atrocities of the Nazis and forced sterilizations in many countries." (17:53)
  • Commercializing optimization invites echoes of historic eugenics atrocities.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Advertising Hype:
  • "Have a smarter baby. Have your tallest baby, preview your future baby. Have your best baby." (05:10, from US company ad campaigns)
• On Genomic Limits:
  • Dalton: "These tests, even if they are accurate—which experts say at the moment they're largely not—would only be able to account for the DNA, and it cannot account for environment." (07:36)
• Equity Concerns:
  • Dalton: "This is a technology only accessible to the white and wealthy." (11:50)
• On Parental Expectation and Social Diversity:
  • Dr. Scroy (via Dalton): "The whole point ... is embracing diversity and ... the random dice roll of nature. And as soon as you start to mess with that ... is something special about having kids ... lost." (14:30)
• Eugenics Warning:
  • Dr. Khami: "It may worsen the way society treats those with non-optimal traits. ... a similar way of thinking—in quote marks improving the human gene pool—ended up with ... the Nazis and forced sterilizations..." (17:48)

Key Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:08 — Why is this topic timely?
• 03:15 — Introduction to polygenic risk scores; embryo “menus”
• 06:16 — Real-life Australian couple using genetic tests abroad
• 08:34 — Australian regulations versus US market
• 10:24 — Equity, cost, and racial/ethnic disparities in access
• 12:53 — Reliability of predictions, risk of lawsuits, societal implications
• 14:30 — Parental expectations and loss of diversity
• 17:26 — Eugenics comparisons and potential social harms

Tone and Speaker Style

The tone is thoughtful, journalistic, and probing—balancing both the futuristic allure of genetically “optimizing” children and the sobering parallels to historic eugenics and ongoing social inequality. Dalton brings scientific complexity down to an engaging, readable level, while Selinger-Morris prompts reflection on universal parental hopes and fears.

Summary Takeaway

The episode leaves listeners with no easy answers—only a deeper awareness of the new moral landscape being shaped by rapid advances in reproductive genetics. While the technology offers the promise of healthier children, it forces society to confront questions about inequality, ableism, and the meaning of human diversity.