Bill would prevent deaf child's birth

LONDON, March 11 (UPI) -- A deaf British couple says a clause in the country's latest fertility legislation would prevent them from using in-vitro fertilization to have a deaf child.

Tomato Lichy and his partner, Paula Garfield, objected to a clause in the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill that would prevent them from selecting an embryo with the deafness gene if another is found to be without genetic abnormalities, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.

They said the bill's preference for embryos with hearing over those without constitutes discrimination and suggests deaf embryos do not have the same right to life as others.

"Being deaf is not about being disabled, or medically incomplete -- it's about being part of a linguistic minority. We're proud, not of the medical aspect of deafness, but of the language we use and the community we live in," Lichy said.