Gene-edited babies may be morally okay: UK panel

LONDON, July 17 

The use of gene editing technologies to alter the DNA of human embryos could be “morally permissible” as long as the science and its impact on society is carefully considered, a British ethics panel said on Tuesday.

Experts from UK’s Nuffield Council on Bioethics said while the law should not currently be changed to allow human genome editing to correct genetic faults in offspring, future legislation permitting it should not be ruled out.

The council urged scientists and ethics experts in the US, China, Europe and elsewhere to engage as early as possible in public debate about what human genome editing might mean.

The procedure, currently banned in the UK, could in time become available as an option for parents wanting to influence the genetic characteristics of their future child. — Reuters

Altering DNA

• Genome editing techniques allow alteration of a targeted DNA sequence in a living cell
• This can help ‘edit out’ possibility of heritable disease or a predisposition to cancer in later life