UK fertility watchdog considers laws for gene editing and lab-grown eggs
By Hannah Devlin,
The Guardian
| 08. 26. 2022
Human genome editing and lab-grown eggs that could theoretically allow same-sex couples to have biological children are among the anticipated scientific advances being discussed by the fertility watchdog to “future-proof” any prospective laws.
As it pushes for the biggest overhaul of fertility laws in 30 years, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is planning for a range of new reproductive treatments that scientists say could be just a few years away, according to a leading scientist advising the HFEA on its proposals.
The HFEA believes the 1990 act that governs the fertility sector needs updating and has previously said it will seek greater powers to fine clinics and changes to rules on donor anonymity, in recommendations that it will put to the government later this year. Now, a leading scientist who is advising the HFEA on its proposals says the regulator is also discussing whether to recommend changes that could pave the way for the use of lab-grown eggs and sperm, and human genome editing, if these techniques are shown to be sufficiently safe and medically justified...
Related Articles
By Ian Sample, The Guardian | 03.08.2024
Scientists are a step closer to making IVF eggs from patients’ skin cells after adapting the procedure that created Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, more than two decades ago.
The work raises the prospect of older women being...
By Gerry Smith, Bloomberg | 03.12.2024
When Celenise Mahmood first learned about two new gene therapies that could cure sickle cell disease, she felt a wave of relief.
Her 9-year-old son, Navid, has the inherited blood disorder. By age 5, he’d had over 30 life-saving blood...
By Liz Baker, Debbie Elliott, and Susanna Capelouto, NPR | 03.06.2024
The Alabama State Legislature passed a bill Wednesday night granting civil and criminal immunity for in vitro fertilization service providers and receivers.
Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed the bill into law within an hour of it passing the Alabama...
By Daniel Gilbert, The Washington Post | 03.07.2024
Vitaly Kushnir’s fertility clinic offers to screen an embryo to predict a baby’s sex, but the service can lead to ethically murky territory, like when a couple wanted it so their first child could be a boy.
But the couple...