Spotlighting Social Justice Before the Gene Editing Summit
Genetic Justice from Start to Summit, the Center for Genetics and Society’s two-part virtual symposium on February 27 and 28, drew hundreds of registrants from 26 countries. Organized as a challenge to the upcoming Third International Gene Summit on Human Genome Editing, the symposium featured speakers from a range of social justice perspectives: disability rights, reproductive rights and justice, racial justice, environmentalism, and human rights. Video recordings and transcripts of both days of the symposium are now available on the CGS website.
More Summit-related happenings
The third Summit is the latest in a series of high-profile multi-day convenings sponsored by the national science academies of the US and the UK. Neither of the two previous Summits were accompanied by alternative initiatives organized by civil society or scholarly groups. This time is different.
CGS’s symposium featured three panels of speakers from our Missing Voices Initiative.
A new coalition of advocacy organizations, including CGS, has launched the International Declaration Against Legalization of Heritable Genetic Modification. Recently opened for signatures, it has already been endorsed by more than two dozen organizations and xxx individuals.
In addition, several Summit-related programs will be held in the UK and online in the coming days to air social justice concerns about heritable genome editing.
The Summit itself, which takes place March 4-6 in London, is open for virtual participation; you can register here.
Here are details on the events and the Declaration.
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The International Declaration Against Legalisation of Human Genetic Modification is now open for signatures from organizations and individuals, organized by Stop Designer Babies, Gen-ethisches Netzwerk, Alliance for Humane Biotechnology, Sciences Citoyennes, GeneEthics, Biorespect, and Center for Genetics and Society. |
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Stop Designer Babies (UK), Alliance for Humane Biotechnology (USA), Gen-ethisches Netzwerk (Germany), and GeneEthics (Australia) are co-sponsoring a teach-in on March 4 in person and online: "Designer baby eugenics and how to stop it." |
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The international conference "Heritable Genome Editing and Equality" will take place March 3–4 at the Centre of Bioethics and Emerging Technologies at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, co-hosted by the Scottish Council for Human Bioethics.
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On Tuesday, March 7 at 6:30 PM GMT, the Global Observatory for Genome Editing will host experts to discuss social justice in the governance of human genome editing. Attend "Toward Inclusion: Genome Editing and Social Justice" online or in person at the Wellcome Collection, London. |