Since 2023, IVF patients in the United States have gained access to a controversial new service: ranking embryos not just by disease risk, but by predicted traits like height, intelligence, and personality. Bioethicists say the practice is expanding far faster than the laws meant to govern it.

Four U.S.-based companies—Genomic Prediction, Orchid, Herasight, and Nucleus—now offer this testing, known as polygenic embryo selection. Orchid Biosciences, one of the earliest entrants, launched its screening service in December 2023. The tests use polygenic risk scores drawn from thousands of genetic markers to estimate the likelihood of developing complex diseases or exhibiting certain traits, setting them apart from established screening methods that detect single-gene disorders like cystic fibrosis.

The procedure remains unregulated in the United States, where embryo testing and selection are left largely to individual clinicians and market forces. That stands in contrast to countries like France, Switzerland, Italy, the U.K., and Australia, which limit embryo selection to the avoidance of disease. Compounding the regulatory gap, researchers warn that the promises made by these companies exceed what current genetics can reliably deliver. Cost is another barrier, since IVF cycles already cost tens of thousands of dollars, with additional fees for embryo testing, putting the technology largely out of reach for most families.

Stanford researcher Daphne Martschenko and Princeton researcher Sam Trejo addressed these concerns directly in a Live Science opinion piece published in February 2026, warning that the industry is dangerously underregulated and that embryo selection could encourage beliefs about genetic superiority, increase pressure on children, and stigmatize those born without such screening.

As the technology becomes increasingly available to those who can afford it, one question remains for lawmakers, doctors, and prospective parents alike: should the ability to select a child's genetic future be left to the market, or does it demand the kind of oversight most other reproductive technologies already have?

정소람 강남포스트 학생기자  webmaster@ignnews.kr

<저작권자 © 강남포스트, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지>