German court clears doctor who selected test-tube babies

Jul 6, 2010, 21:12 GMT

Berlin - A German court on Tuesday acquitted a fertility doctor of illegal abortion after he let several test-tube human embryos die when they failed tests for genetic diseases.

The decision by the High Court in Leipzig liberalizes Germany's strict ban on culling unwanted embryos, though lawyers said Germany was still a long way from introducing 'designer babies' whose sex, physique and hair colour can be chosen by parents in advance.

The federal chamber of doctors welcomed the decision, but German Catholic leaders attacked it, saying it was an assault on unborn life. A leader of the disabled community also called the decision worrying.

A Berlin gynecologist conducted the tests while helping three couples who could not have babies the normal way. Several embryos were conceived in a test tube and then tested to see if they had any of their parents' genetic defects.

Only the defect-free babies were then implanted in the mothers' wombs. The mothers refused the others, so the doctor allowed them to die. The doctor asked to be prosecuted to test Germany's abortion laws covering the issue and was acquitted in May 2009.

Confirming the acquittal on appeal, federal judges said Tuesday that pre-implantation diagnostic tests were legal provided they were only directed at preventing serious, genetic-origin disease.