When talking about emerging reproductive genetic technologies, popular imagination and public anxieties invariably turn to fears about ”˜designer babies' with sex selection, considered by many to be the gateway technology. While sex selective technologies are relatively simple, issues of race, gender equality, and abortion politics, and polarized debates about reproductive freedom and regulation complicate the discussions about them. When it comes to public policy on sex selection (and other reproductive genetic technologies), how do we stand for race and gender equality, and reproductive autonomy all at the same time? It will require threading some very, very fine political and social needles.

SUJATHA JESUDASON, Ph.D., leads Generations Ahead, a non-profit organization that shapes and informs our policies on genetic technology, advocating for its equitable and wise use.