"Life expectancy for a child with mitochondria is very short, very short. And I think that's devastating for a woman"

Mothers day may be about to get more complicated in the UK after parliament voted to allow a three-parent IVF technique.

It is designed to eliminate the possibility of mitochondrial diseases being transmitted to children. As these come through mothers only, the technique removes faulty DNA, replacing it with healthy material from a female donor.

This will be the first time that we would intentionally manipulate the human genome. It is something that governments around the world have agreed for the last 20 years that we shouldnt do, and once you cross that line, then its very hard to stop going down the slippery slope to designer babies, says the Director of Human Genetics Alert Dr. David King.

Advocates say it would be cruel to continue to allow the incurable disease to occur which affects around one in every 6500 births, and 11 international campaign groups are supporting the British government to take the unprecedented step.

When you have a baby, and find out that your babys ill or got something that youve got, and life expectancy for a child with mitochondria is very short, very short. And I think thats devastating for a woman, says Olivia Seaby, who carries the defective DNA.

Few would dispute man is playing God in this case, but a kindly and benevolent one. The danger, say some, is once the precedent is set, characteristics some maintain add variety and richness to the human experience will be airbrushed away.

Mr Robert Meadowcroft, chief executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign in the UK

We support this research because it will lead to effective treatment for devastating mitochondrial disorders. In the UK there is a very tight regulatory and licensing regime, so fears of a slippery slope are misplaced.

A vote in favour of regulations is important because these conditions can lead to severe disability and early death for children.

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Britain's parliament allows human genome manipulation for first time