A Global Call to Ban the Creation of Gene-Edited Babies
Stung by a rogue scientist’s actions, experts want a moratorium on using CRISPR for germline editing
Last November, Chinese scientist He Jiankui shocked the world when he revealed that he had used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to modify human embryos during in vitro fertilization, resulting in the birth of twin girls with edited genomes. It was the first known time CRISPR had been used in this way.
Now, scientists and ethicists from seven countries are calling for a worldwide moratorium that would temporarily ban the editing of human eggs, sperm, or embryos — known as germline editing — with the purpose of making genetically-modified children.
The proposal, which appears March 13 in the major scientific journal Nature, endorses “an initial period of fixed duration during which no clinical uses of germline editing whatsoever should be allowed.” The authors suggest that five years might be appropriate. After that, any nation could choose whether to permit specific applications of gene-editing on viable embryos intended to cause a pregnancy. Countries would then be able to approve applications that meet certain conditions, including giving public notice of the planned experiment to make sure there is what the authors term a “broad…
