Deaf lesbians, “designer disability,” and the future of medicine

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Abstract
Ethics In the case of Duchesneau and McCullough, there is no ethical issue—the couple have the right to procreate with whomever they want. And many couples with a family history of deafness or disability seek to have a child without that disability.5 But some deaf couples have expressed the desire to use prenatal genetic testing of their fetus6 or in vitro fertilisation and preimplantation genetic diagnosis to select a deaf child. These choices are not unique to deafness. Dwarves may wish to have a dwarf child.7 People with intellectual disability may wish to have a child like them. Couples of mixed race may wish to have a light skinned child (or a dark skinned child, if they are mindful of reducing the risk of skin cancer in countries like Australia).