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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

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