Benefits of genetic testing far outweigh the costs | Observer letters
Mary Warnock is right that consent has to be assumed from the child if genetic modification can avert a serious and often distressing condition ("We need to use gene editing wisely but also embrace its vast potential,"Comment, last week). The test is of whether the procedure is "in the child's best interest" and, if confined to serious diseases, as Warnock alludes to, then I believe that most appropriately informed parents will agree that it is.
Cost is harder to assess. Not all serious conditions are immediately fatal or life-threatening and the initial expense of testing must be balanced against that of potentially many years of expensive medical care and, quite likely, social support and special educational needs. In addition, the cost of many tests becomes relatively cheaper as they become better established and more readily available.
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