Choosing among possible persons: The ethics of prenatal selection in the postgenomic age

The spectre of eugenics is often raised about various current reproductive practices that imply a form of choice between future possible persons. Some of these practices are linked to genetic technologies such as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, others merely entail the choice of a procreator having specific traits, such as in artificial insemination with donor. The weight and limits of this reproof of eugenics are examined, with special attention to the conceptual problems resulting from confusing choices involving virtual persons with the selection of existing persons. (C) 2015 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.