FRIDAY, Sept. 4, 2020 (Healthday News) — Genetic editing of embryos should not be attempted yet because the science isn’t advanced enough to ensure safety, an international panel of experts says.
Their paper was released nearly two years after a Chinese scientist claimed he’d helped create the world’s first gene-edited babies, which was widely condemned as unethical, the Associated Press reported.
If a country permits genetic editing of embryos, it should restrict it to cases where people have no or very poor options for having a child without a serious genetic disease, said the panel that was formed by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the United Kingdom’s Royal Society.
The panel didn’t take a position on whether genetic editing of embryos is ethical. A report on that issue is expected later this year from a panel formed by the World Health Organization, the AP reported.
Copyright © 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
