Babies made using three people’s DNA are born free of hereditary disease

The BBC reports that “eight babies have been born in the UK using genetic material from three people to prevent devastating and often fatal conditions.”

The new process combines the egg and sperm from a mum and dad with a second egg from a donor woman. “Children born through the three-person technique inherit most of their DNA, their genetic blueprint, from their parents, but also get a tiny amount, about 0.1%, from the second woman,” the BBC explains.

This seemingly is legal in the UK, the UK pioneering this new scientific research.

As the purpose is to avoid known hereditary illnesses in the new baby, the side effects and other consequences are not discussed by the BBC.

Moral and social matter are not discussed by the BBC. Legal matters, such as descendents’/mothers’ rights and obligations cannot be correctly taken into consideration – the new baby might be only a descendent at 0.1 % of the second woman (mother?) – but does this have a legal consequence? And what if it’s 10%?