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John D. Loike, a Professor of Biology at Touro College and University Systems, writes a regular column on bioethics for The Scientist.
On Sunday (November 25), He Jiankui, a scientist at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, announced that he was the “first” to use CRISPR to genetically edit twin babies to inactivate the gene for CCR5, a chemokine receptor that the HIV virus uses to infect human immune cells. There are many questions regarding this announcement: What were the medical motivations in using gene editing to “protect” these future twins from contracting HIV? Why weren’t embryos that carry fatal genetic mutations the targeted subjects for gene editing? How do we protect the “autonomous rights” of the unborn?
Nonetheless, the visions of how this gene-editing technology could be abused unnerved scientists, medical ethicists, and legislators. The temporary halt to gene editing on humans ...
