The impact of this technology will be dampened and delayed by several factors. There is the unavoidable maturational lag while the finally selected embryos grow into adult human beings: at least twenty years before an enhanced child reaches full productivity, longer still before such children come to constitute a substantial segment of the labor force. Furthermore, even after the technology has been perfected, adoption rates will probably start out low. Some countries might prohibit its use altogether, on moral or religious grounds.50 Even where selection is allowed, many couples will prefer
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