‘Steer Clear of Creating GMO Babies,’ Scientists and Ethicists Say
Committee Says World is Not Ready for GMO Babies...Yet
‘Proceed with caution, but steer clear of creating GMO babies’ was
the general message sent Thursday by the dozen scientists and ethicists
who organized the International Summit on Human Gene Editing in
Washington, D.C.
The experts said at the end of 3 days of deliberation and
presentations that not all gene therapy should move forward, and the
world is not ready for “germline” editing that permanently changes an
embryo so that the edit could be passed along to future children.
The meeting, sponsored by the national science academies of the U.S.,
Britain and China, is merely intended for idea swapping and passing
along general guidance on gene editing. None of the scientists or
ethicists has the authority to make anyone do anything.
the general message sent Thursday by the dozen scientists and ethicists
who organized the International Summit on Human Gene Editing in
Washington, D.C.
The experts said at the end of 3 days of deliberation and
presentations that not all gene therapy should move forward, and the
world is not ready for “germline” editing that permanently changes an
embryo so that the edit could be passed along to future children.
The meeting, sponsored by the national science academies of the U.S.,
Britain and China, is merely intended for idea swapping and passing
along general guidance on gene editing. None of the scientists or
ethicists has the authority to make anyone do anything.
“Intensive basic and preclinical research is clearly
needed and should proceed, subject to appropriate legal and ethical
rules and oversight, on technologies for editing genetic sequences in
human cells; the potential benefits and risks of proposed clinical uses,
and understanding the biology of human embryos and germline cells,” the
final statement reads.
“If, in the process of research, early human embryos or
germline cells undergo gene editing, the modified cells should not be
used to establish a pregnancy.”
