A Chinese biophysics researcher, He Jiankui, performed germline editing via CRISPR-CAS9 on human embryos in order to make them resistant to HIV. The procedure was done without consent to the babies of course and without the permission from the government. The issue with germline editing is that the effects of the genetic mutation on future generations in not yet known. Should germline gene editing be approved for preventing HIV in humans without confident knowledge in the effect on future generations? In other words is the immediate benefit of germline gene editing worth the potential cost of future generations?
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