The Center for Genetics and Society brings social justice and human rights to the center of public and policy discussions about human genetics and assisted reproduction.

Featured

Breeding for IQ

By Emily R. Klancher Merchant, Los Angeles Review of Books | 08.22.2024

Aggregated News

IN THE Operation Varsity Blues scandal of 2019, 50 wealthy parents were charged with trying to get their children into elite universities through fraudulent means. The story dramatically demonstrated the lengths to which some parents will go to ensure their...

Genetic Selection

Professor Osagie K. Obasogie’s ‘Legacies of Eugenics’ Project

By Gwyneth Shaw, Berkeley Law | 08.23.2024

Aggregated News

In this episode, host Gwyneth Shaw talks to Professor Osagie K. Obasogie, a professor of law and bioethics and the only UC Berkeley faculty member to hold an appointment at both our law school and our School of Public...

Human Genetic Modification

Human Biotech is in the News: We Need to Talk

By Pete Shanks | 09.25.2024
Biopolitical Times

Reproductive rights have been a flashpoint in national politics for decades, with the stakes surging after the Supreme Court shredded...

Assisted Reproduction

Dawn of the Silicon Valley Superbaby

By Julia Black and Margaux MacColl, The Information [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 07.19.2024

Aggregated News

When venture capitalist Jack Abraham first began dating his wife, Gabriella Massamillo, he insisted on one condition: that when they...

Genetic Selection

Biopolitical Times

Trump’s Eugenic Fantasies

By Pete Shanks | 10.08.2024

“Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore 
is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

On October 7, Donald Trump’s long-standing...

Civil Society

Human Biotech is in the News: We Need to Talk

By Pete Shanks | 09.25.2024

Reproductive rights have been a flashpoint in national politics for decades, with the stakes surging after the Supreme Court shredded...

Assisted Reproduction

Update on Polling about Human Biotechnologies

By Pete Shanks | 08.26.2024

It has been for years a truth universally acknowledged that heritable human genome editing – “designer baby” technology –  should...

Biopolitics

News

IVF will be covered by insurance for many Californians after Newsom signs bill

By Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times | 10.29.2024

SACRAMENTO —  Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Sunday that requires large health insurance companies to cover in vitro fertilization — a win for reproductive health advocates amid nationwide concerns about the future of access to fertility treatments.

The bill also...

Policies

What are the lines and who draws them?: The CRISPR-Cas9 story

By Sara Moretto, The Varsity | 09.22.2024

It was 2020. I was wrapping up grade nine science with a solid 60 per cent, hoping that if anyone saw my failed tests in the recycling bin, it would contribute to an air of mystery about me. This reason...

Human Genetic Modification

What’s the Meaning of ‘Cure’ in Gene Therapy?

By Don Sapatkin, Managed Healthcare Executive | 09.20.2024

Gene therapy comes with the expectation that it will “cure” an expanding number of genetic disorders. If you’ve never wondered – and even if you have -- what that word actually means, four Dutch researchers have a surprise in store...

Genomics

Doctors cured her sickle-cell disease. So why is she still in pain?

By Heidi Ledford, Nature | 09.17.2024

For most of her life, Genesis Jones’s daily routine revolved around her illness, the painful blood disorder known as sickle-cell disease. Each time she left the house, she ran through a mental checklist: did she have her pain medications...

Genomics

Video
Reproduction and Family Formation: The State and the Market
Use Gene Editing to Make Better Babies | Debate | Intelligence Squared U.S.
The 'Perfect' Baby?: The Dangers of Gene Editing in Assisted Reproduction