Three-person in vitro fertilization (IVF) was approved for trial in the UK. This is a new IVF method that includes the DNA of three people in order to help women with mitochondrial mutations have healthy babies. The replacement of mitochondrial DNA has caused great debate in the UK and across the globe, raising the question of who will be the rightful parents. The issue of nature or nurture has concerned many generations. Are the parents of a child the people who give birth to it or the people who raise it? Even ancient Greeks wondered about the issue. People who have studied ancient Greek mythology know that many weird births took place in Olympus. For example the birth of goddess Athena. It was said that Zeus swallowed Athena’s mother while she was still pregnant and then gave birth to his daughter through his head. There are even examples of three-parent births. Erichthonius, Hephaistos’ son, was born from the womb of Gaia, goddess Earth, so he is, in a way, her son. Hephaistos is the father since he contributed his “seed” (seed is ancient Greek for DNA). However, Hephaistos longed for Athena, the ancient Greek goddess who has sworn to remain pure. In the end, she ran away from him, but he ejaculated on her leg. The goddess picked a piece of wool and cleaned herself and then threw it on the ground. Hephaistos’ seed fell on Gaia, making her pregnant. Erichthonius was born from Gaia’s womb, who then gave him to Athena, so that she would raise him. This may not be identical to the modern dilemma of three-person IVF, but it raises several questions. Is the biological aspect of parenthood so important or is nurture more important?
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