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Letter to the Editor
Union Leader writer Alexandra Harney reported that a Chinese scientist Jiankui He recently announced the first gene-editing babies have been born using a technique called CRISPR-Cas9 (unionleader.com/news/china-orders-halt-to-gene-editing-after-outcry-over-babies/article_eb9ef00e-c82e-510e-8750-1ebbe7c10b0f.html). It is not the first time scientists have utilized CRISPR-Cas9 on zygotes, but it is the first time this technique was applied to developed humans. While some celebrated this scientific breakthrough, I question the ethics behind whether scientists have the right to decide the genes of the next generations. According to the “14 days principle,” any zygote used in scientific research should be destroyed after 14 days. In the past thousands of years of history, it is the chance process of gene-pairing that has led to the diversity of the human population. Without randomness, people will gradually lose their variances and thus creativity, which stifles developments and is against natural selection. The Founding Fathers of America claimed in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal.” However, the gene-edited babies are pre-programmed with advanced traits that erase their equality to any of us. What geneticists He has done thus violates the basic human rights and long-term moral principles. Moreover, this experiment did not consider responsibility for either the babies or future generations. It is possible that He changed something that should not have been changed in the children’s genes. The potential deficiency is unpredictable and irreversible. Now Pandora's box has been opened, how could it be closed again?
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