In an unexpected twist to the pursuit of "designer" offspring, the couple, who are both deaf, said they had wanted a child that would be like themselves. The four-month old boy is profoundly deaf in his left ear and has only residual hearing in his right.
Sharon Duchesneau and Candy McCullough, both in their 30s, turned to a friend with five generations of deafness in his family after being turned away by a sperm bank which told them that donors with disabilities were screened out. \
Ms Duchesneau is no stranger to the debate on designer babies. She is a med ical ethics graduate from the University of Virginia and worked as an intern in the bioethics department at the National Institutes of Health.
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They also said they were part of a generation that viewed deafness not as a disability but as a cultural identity.
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"I think all of us recognise that deaf children can have perfectly wonderful lives," Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin said. "The question is whether the parents have violated the sacred duty of parenthood, which is to maximise to some reasonable degree the advantages available to their children. I'm loath to say it, but I think it's a shame to set limits on a child's potential."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/08/davidteather 
