It’s Midday on Ethics with Dr. Jeffrey Kahn of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute for Bioethics.
Today we’ll explore some of the ethical issues raised by the explosive case of a Chinese researcher named He Jiankui. In late November, Dr. He announced at a scientific conference the birth of twin girls, Lulu and Nana, who, he claimed, are the world’s first gene-edited humans. Most countries, including China, ban human gene editing, and scientists around the world have strongly denounced Dr. He’s shocking claims, which raise ethical questions not only for the newborns, but for future generations.
We livestreamed this conversation on WYPR's Facebook page. Click here to watch the video.