December 18 - Gay couples could soon have children with traits of BOTH fathers:  'Multiplex parenting' could allow up to 32 people to contribute to child's DNA

Scientific advances will soon allow children to have any number of parents, legal experts warn. The arrival of ‘multiplex parenting’ is a ‘mere matter of time’ as the techniques have been shown to work on mice, according to a study. In theory, any number of parents from three upwards – of either sex – could contribute DNA to create a baby.

Sonia Suter, a law professor at George Washington University, has explored the issues raised by the technique, called in vitro gametogenesis (IVG). She suggests babies could be used to create ‘clans’ of large numbers of people, linked through their shared offspring. The method would also enable the creation of ‘solo’ children from one parent – as well as hope for infertile adults who would not need a donor egg or sperm.

‘IVG could facilitate multiplex parenting, where groups of more than two individuals – whether all male, all female, or a combination – procreate together, producing children who are the genetic progeny of them all,’ she said. She said multiplex parents could theoretically lead to a ‘positive outcome’ for a child as ‘the more adults who feel responsible for the child’s wellbeing, the better off the child is likely to be’. But she said confusion and conflict might arise about the roles of the many parents.