House Democrats Vote to Lift Ban on Embryonic Gene-Editing Research
(Worthy News) – Scientists and ethicists worldwide are calling for a global moratorium on editing the DNA in human embryos, but a Democratic-led committee in the U.S. House of Representatives wants to leave the door wide open to the controversial research. On May 23, the House Appropriations subcommittee that focuses on funding related to the Food and Drug Administration drafted a bill that would drop the ban prohibiting the FDA from considering such research.
Congressional lawmakers instituted the ban in 2016 to prevent scientists from producing a baby with heritable genetic modifications. A rider to that law also bars the National Institutes of Health from funding research that genetically modifies human sperm, eggs, or embryos. The studies could be privately funded but cannot get very far without FDA approval to conduct clinical trials.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, the top Republican on the Appropriations subcommittee, opposed the changes to the law. “This is a prohibition that is accepted by nearly every nation in the world due to the unknown risks,” he said. [ Source: World Magazine (Read More…) ]