"Super babies," subway ads, and “ best baby” promises are grabbing headlines, but the story underneath is older and more complicated. We sit down with seasoned genetic counselors Laura Hercher and Bob Resta to unpack how early eugenic ideas are resurfacing through modern pronatalism, IVF add-ons, and polygenic embryo selection—now marketed as responsible parenting and better public health. The conversation pulls apart the science, the sales pitch, and the social stakes.

We start with a clear primer on positive and negative eugenics and how today’s rhetoric reframes “optimization” as health while centering IQ and status. Laura and Bob explain what preimplantation testing can do for known single-gene conditions and why polygenic scores for complex traits fall short, especially between sibling embryos. They detail the gaps in predictive power, the ancestry biases, and the way slick messaging leverages parental fear. We explore the costs and emotional toll of IVF, the push to make embryo screening a default choice, and the subtle shift from autonomy to judgment—decline testing and any “bad luck” becomes “earned.”

The stakes go beyond the lab. We talk about disability, dignity, and how lives exceed a genome. Culture and policy shape outcomes as much as DNA—funding, inclusion, and real support matter. We examine the tech elite’s fixation on IQ, the comfort of genetic determinism for the newly powerful, and the risks of chasing outliers like “tallest,” “smartest,” or “chillest” as if those scores define worth. Throughout, we highlight the counselor’s role: translate limits honestly, differentiate risk reduction from speculative enhancement, and resist hype with clear, humane language.

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Genetic Support Foundation: https://geneticsupportfoundation.org/

Lettercase National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources: https://www.lettercase.org/