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Scientists and ethicists from seven countries on Wednesday called for a worldwide moratorium on the genetic modification of eggs, sperm or human embryos, which would give birth to genetically modified babies after the announcement by a rogue Chinese researcher of the birth of the world's first genetically modified twins.
The news of their birth has sparked a global condemnation of work, raising the ethical spectrum of so-called "designer babies" in which embryos could be genetically engineered to produce children with desirable traits.
Scientists and ethicists want to put an end to the genetic modifications of "germ cells", whether they be stem cells or sperm cells, which can then be inherited by others and "could have permanent effects and possibly harmful to the species ".
The global moratorium would be in place until nations could develop international principles to guide the use of technology, the experts wrote on March 13 online in the newspaper. Nature. It would not cover gene editing done on embryos for research purposes that would not lead to a live birth.
"The governance framework we call will place speed bumps ahead of the most daring plans to reconfigure the human species," the experts said. "The introduction of genetic modifications in future generations could have permanent and possibly harmful effects on the species," they wrote.
These works differ from the research conducted by many pharmaceutical and scientific companies on gene therapies based on so-called somatic cell editing that affect an individual's health by correcting an illness or condition but would not be transmitted to the offspring.
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health of the United States (NIH), said in a letter to the newspaper that the "NIH strongly agreed" that a ban on this practice will take effect immediately and remain in place until nations can engage. international rules to determine "if and under what conditions such research should ever be conducted".
"There is no doubt that genome-modification technologies hold tremendous potential," Collins said, adding that too many scientific and ethical issues needed to be addressed.
Some scientists have found the proposed ban useless, stating that it would not prevent a scientist determined to use this technology to alter the DNA of embryos to prevent disease or disease. Improve the features of a child, as was the case of the Chinese researcher He Jiankui.
"We do not think that a moratorium would have deterred He Jiankui, who acted in secret and in violation of a clear scientific consensus that the treatment of the germinal genome should not be used at the clinic at any time. Today, "said Sarah Norcross, director of Progress Educational, based in Britain. Trust, said in a statement.
Helen O'Neill, Program Director for Reproductive Sciences and Women's Health at University College London, said the proposal ignores the fact that a global ban already exists. O'Neill said there were legal and ethical measures in place in China and that he had broken many of these rules. "It was not that he did it because the law allowed it."
-Julie Steenhuysen
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