Ban He Jiankui, creator of gene-edited babies, from experimenting on people, Chinese bioethics group says
- Prominent bioethicist Qiu Renzong among legal, ethics and scientific experts calling for investigation of He’s possible recent violations
- ‘[We] strongly condemn his misleading marketing hype about his rare disease research plans in the absence of scientific substance and ethical safeguards’
In a statement dated March 5, the group of 18, including a number of bioethicists, said He had refused to adequately acknowledge his legal and ethical breaches.
“[We] strongly condemn He Jiankui’s refusal to reflect on his crime of seriously violating gene-editing ethics, laws and regulations,” the group said in the statement released after they met to discuss He’s research.
“[We] also strongly condemn his misleading marketing hype about his rare disease research plans in the absence of scientific substance and ethical safeguards,” they said, adding that further breaches might have occurred.
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World experts alarmed by ‘gene-edited babies’
He Jiankui stunned the world in 2018 when he announced at a conference in Hong Kong that he had created genetically modified twin girls. A third girl was born the following year.
