De-humanization: Human Genome Editing

De-humanization: Human Genome Editing

Human Genome Editing: It’s Time to Face the Big Ethics Question

The group Stop Designer Babies warns that legalizing human genome editing will inevitably lead to a society of genetic “haves” and “have-nots,” in which wealthy parents can choose “designer” traits in their babies, including IQ and athletic prowess.

The Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing, held earlier this month at the Francis Crick Institute in London, closed with a statement that “heritable human genome editing remains unacceptable at this time,” adding:

“Public discussions and policy debates continue and are important for resolving whether this technology should be used. Governance frameworks and ethical principles for the responsible use of heritable human genome editing are not in place.”

Pointing to “risks and unintended effects” of gene editing, the statement warned that “Necessary safety and efficacy standards have not been met.” (More at Children’s Health Defense)

 

Stop Designer Babies

On November 25th 2018, the world changed, with the announcement by ‘rogue scientist’, He Jiankui, of the birth of the world’s first genetically modified (GM) babies in China. Is this the start of a new era of human history, the age of designer baby eugenics? Despite widespread condemnation of He Jiankui’s actions, the world’s leading scientific organisations refused to consider civil society organisations’ demand for a moratorium. Instead, they said that they would be pushing ahead with the application of this technology. If you’re worried about this, you should be, because science is clearly out of control. More at Stop Designer Babies

Stop designer babies
Now that we’ve seen the first two designer babies, it’s time for the governments of the world to say: no more.