New York City, N.Y., Aug 29, 2019 / 16:20 pm
As scientists explore new avenues for gene editing, a pro-life group is urging caution against the temptation to use the technology to create "designer babies."
The Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the research branch of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, commented on the use of CRISPR, a gene editing tool, to alter the DNA of sperm cells at a lab in New York.
"Use of CRISPR to manipulate genes or remove them entirely from the human germline presents a host of scientific and ethical questions that we can't possibly answer at this time," said David Prentice, CLI's vice president and research director.
"Our focus should be on helping patients, not on designer babies," he stressed in an Aug. 28 press release.