Problem
Article: "The untold story of the ‘circle of trust' behind the world's first gene-edited babies" by Jon Cohen.
1. Do you agree that He Jiankui was rogue? In your opinion, what did he do wrong, if anything?
2. Leading scientists call for a moratorium on research on human embryos using genome-editing technologies, such as CRISPR. What sorts of ethical concerns does a moratorium address?
3. What are some goals that could be achieved? What do you think are the likely outcomes or consequences of a ban on gene editing of human embryos?
4. Should non-scientist members of the public be included in the decision-making process about whether or not, and to what extent, research with genome-editing technologies should be restricted? What kinds of concerns might be overlooked if the decision-making process included only scientists? What sorts of insights may non-scientist members of the public bring to the discussion?
5. What should be the social and ethical responsibilities of the individual scientists involved in research with genome-editing technology? How can they best fulfill those responsibilities?