Gattaca: just around the corner or already here?

So we had a very brief conversation in my lab at work concerning the potential for a Gattaca future. It was brought on by a recent study looking at the potential of finding the genetic determinants of atrial fibrillation (AF; a type of cardiac condition). In this one study, they were trying to replicate the finding of a previous group which found 2 SNP's (single-nucleotide polymorphisms, ie: genetic markers in one's DNA) that highly correlated with individuals diagnosed with AF. However, in this particular study, they not only confirmed those 2 SNPs, but also found 4 other ones. They concluded by saying that such a finding is so reliable that it has the potential of preventing AF in an individual, through proper medical treatment, who may be at risk genetically in getting AF.

Moral of the story, my PI said that such a finding can be critical in preventative medicine and that the main breakthrough would be to be able to genetically map a newborn baby. Mapping their genes would allow parents to know the risk their child has of getting a variety of disorders. Having this information, they can then raise/treat that child accordingly (ie: have a low sugar diet if the child is at risk for type II diabetes) so as to reduce the potential of them getting the certain disorder they are at risk for. Keeping this in mind, one of my lab members posed the question: What is to stop people then from mapping their children and saying, "Well, I don't want to raise a child with the potential of getting that disorder. It's too much to think about. It think we'll just give them up for adoption." My PI took it one step further saying, "What is to stop them from mapping their fetuses?" The answer to this last question is without a doubt a scary one since, as may be common sense to some, the parents may not choose to adopt but to abort. Sadly, this notion is not a new one and in the world of IVF, there is selection and mapping already occurring. I tried to bring this up so as to open the eyes of my lab members to the notion of eugenics, but the topic was quickly changed. How frustrating. Nonetheless, I took the liberty to send the following article to my lab member (who happens to be the administrator of my lab) in regards to her question about parents wishing to give their children up for adoption. I briefly mentioned to her that I had read this article similar to the topis we mentioned in lab, so she got a heads up and it's not completely out of the blue.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123439771603075099.html

God help us and bless us all, especially our children.