Leading geneticists call for worldwide moratorium on creation of gene-edited children
By 
Anthony King2019-03-13T18:00:00
Five-year pause would give nations breathing space following the birth of the first genetically-modified children in November
Prominent scientists are calling for a global moratorium on germline editing to create genetically modified children. Writing in Nature, they argue for a five-year pause on all clinical uses of editing of reproductive cells. They write that this is needed because germline editing is not yet safe or effective for patients, and the risk of introducing unintended mutations is unacceptably high.