UK Set to Legalize Babies With DNA From 3 Parents
By KQED,
KQED Radio [With CGS's Marcy Darnovsky]
| 02. 06. 2015
Download audio (MP3)
After a parliamentary vote earlier this week, the United Kingdom is set to become the first country to legalize making a baby with DNA from three parents. The controversial procedure, which prevents mothers from passing on genetic diseases to their children, involves replacing faulty DNA in a mother's eggs with healthy DNA from a third person. Critics say the procedure raises many ethical questions. But British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "We're not playing God here, we're just making sure that two parents who want a healthy baby can have one." We'll discuss the technology and explore whether the U.S. and other countries may follow Britain's lead.
Host: Mina Kim
Guests:
- Hank Greely, director of the Center for Law and the Biosciences and law professor at Stanford University
- Marcelle Cedars, professor and director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at UCSF
- Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society
More info:
Related Articles
By Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, The New York Times | 06.30.2026
A research program at the National Institutes of Health released the world’s largest database of human genomes and paired them with clinical data, officials announced Tuesday, paving the way for a new era of study in personalized medicine.
The All...
By Sarah Norcross, Sandy Starr, Amanda Cooney, and Anneliese Burton, BioNews | 07.06.2026
By Mustapha Bature Sallama, Modern Ghana | 06.11.2026
In much of West Africa, a woman who cannot bear children does not merely face a medical condition. She faces a verdict. Her marriage may unravel. Her community may turn cold. Her identity, in a social order that ties womanhood...
By Marisa Flook , BioNews | 06.29.2026
An anti-ageing gene therapy not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to be offered by an American company at overseas clinics outside of US jurisdiction.
The treatment, developed by Minicircle from Austin, Texas, uses a...