3-Person IVF: Critical Correspondence
CGS Press Statements:
- September 27, 2016: Comment on use of mitochondrial manipulation techniques by US scientists in Mexico
- February 3rd, 2016: Center for Genetics and Society Comments on Just-Released Report on Germline Mitochondrial Manipulations
- November 29th, 2015: Center for Genetics and Society releases open letter and report calling for prohibitions on human germline engineering
- May 27th, 2015: Center for Genetics and Society comments on White House and National Academies approaches to altering the human germline
- April 29th, 2015: NIH Statement on Gene Editing Highlights Need for Stronger US Stance on Genetically Modified Humans, Says Public Interest Group
- February 24, 2015: United Kingdom Becomes Only Country to Allow Human Germline Modification
- February 3, 2015: Comment on House of Commons Vote Approving the Germline Engineering Technique “3-Person IVF”
- January 29, 2015: Center for Genetics and Society Releases Open Letter to UK Members of Parliament as Vote on “Mitochondrial Donation” Approaches
- June 3, 2014: UK Agency’s Update on “Three-Person IVF” Leaves Safety Questions Unresolved
- February 19, 2014: FDA Should Preserve International Consensus against Human Germline Modifications
- June 27, 2013: Public Interest Group Urges UK Government Not to Break International Consensus Against Inheritable Genetic Modification
- March 20, 2013: Public Interest Group Calls on UK to Reject Modifying Genes of Future Generations
- December 19, 2012: Public interest group calls on FDA to rule "nuclear genome transfer" unacceptable
Letters and Statements:
- Open letter from stem cell scientist Paul Knoepfler to UK Parliament, imploring that they heed safety concerns for any resulting children and "avoid historic mistake on rushing human genetic modification." (Published November 2, 2014)
- All submissions to the UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee evidence hearing October 22, 2014 (CGS submission pg. 31)
- Letter to the HFEA Mitochondria Review Policy Team prepared by the Center for Genetics and Society and signed by 53 prominent scholars, scientists and advocates sent on March 21, 2014 in response to their "Call for evidence: Update to scientific review of the methods to avoid mitochondrial disease."
- Letter to the FDA prepared by the Center for Genetics and Society and the International Center for Technology Assessment signed by over 250 people, for review for the February 25-26, 2014 public meeting on mitochondrial manipulation technologies
- Letter to the FDA from the Center for Genetics and Society in preparation for their public meeting on mitochondrial manipulation technologies
- Statement from 34 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stating that this technique "is incompatible with human dignity and international law."
- "Alarm Over Genetic Control of Embryos Times 20 March 2013," a letter to The Times (UK) citing grave reservations about mitochondria replacement signed by 30 bioethicists from around the world
- "Eugenics fear over gene modification,"a Letter to the Editor in The Guardian signed by 15 scholars and activists
Articles and Commentary:
- "Three parent babies: unethical, unnecessary, unsafe," Philippa Taylor, BioNews
- "ADF to European Parliament: UK ‘three-parent embryo’ legislation illegal," The Global Dispatch
- "Top 10 myths about 3-person IVF mitochondrial transfer," Paul Knoepfler, Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog
- "Three Parent IVF," Dr. Trevor Stammers, St Mary’s University Blog
- "The Truth about Mitochondrial Replacement," Françoise Baylis, Impact Ethics
- "Three-Parent IVF: What's The Hurry?," John Farrell, Forbes
- "Britain is on the brink of a perilous vote for 'three-person in vitro fertilization'," Marcy Darnovsky and Jessica Cussins, Los Angeles Times
- "Three-person IVF: science shows ethical questions remain unanswered,"Ted Morrow, The Conversation
- "Three-parent babies: It's more messy than we thought," New Scientist editorial
- "Why Worry About Genetically Modified Babies?," Marcy Darnovsky and Jessica Cussins, GeneWatch
- "Myth replacement therapy: MPs debate the science of mitochondria," Ted Morrow, BioNews
- "Exclusive: Scientists accuse government of dishonesty over GM babies in its regulation of new IVF technique," Steve Connor, The Independent
- "Should we open the door to genetically modified babies?" Jessica Cussins, CNBC
- "Safety concerns remain over three-person IVF," Ted Morrow, The Guardian
- "Ethics and epistasis,"Ted Morrow, Ted's blog
- ""Three-Person IVF" Update Reveals How Little We Know," Jessica Cussins, The Huffington Post
- "Is the UK being too hasty over three-parent babies?" Marcy Darnovsky and Donna Dickenson, New Scientist
- "Genetically Modified Babies," Marcy Darnovsky, The New York Times
- "Slowing the Rush to Genetically Modified Babies," Enola Aird, MomsRising
- "What We Know About Three-Parent In Vitro Fertilization," Jessica Cussins, RH Reality Check
- "FDA Asked to Approve Creation of Genetically Modified Children" Stuart Newman, The Huffington Post
- "The Commercialization of Human Eggs in Mitochondrial Replacement Research" Donna Dickenson, The New Bioethics
- "Should persons affected by mitochondrial disorders not be brought into existence?" Calum MacKellar, BioNews
- "On Designer Babies," Sheldon Krimsky, Tufts Medicine
- "A slippery slope to human germline modification," Marcy Darnovsky, Nature
- "A Former IVF Baby on "Three-Parent IVF"," Jessica Cussins, The Huffington Post
- "Let’s Keep the Door to Biotechnological Eugenics Closed," Enola Aird, MomsRising
- "Brave New Cells?" Donna Dickenson, Project Syndicate
- "The British Embryo Authority and the Chamber of Eugenics," Stuart Newman, The Huffington Post
- "The ethics of creating children with three genetic parents," Françoise Baylis, Reproductive BioMedicine Online
- "Three person IVF," Paula Boddington, University of Oxford's Practical Ethics
- "The ethics of three-genetic-parent embryos," Margaret Somerville, Ottawa Citizen
- "Geneticists Breach Ethical Taboo By Changing Genes Across Generations," Rob Stein, NPR
- "Lord Robert Winston Warning Over Child ‘Eugenics’," Lyndsay Buckland, The Scotsman
- "The Eugenic Impulse," Nathaniel Comfort, The Chronicle of Higher Education
- "My concerns about Nature paper on Genome Transfer for mitochondrial disease," Paul Knoepfler, the Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog
- "Exaggerations and Misrepresentations have no place in Science Policy Debates," the Council for Responsible Genetics
- "Three parents? Sorry, but this is science gone mad," Melanie McDonagh, The Telegraph
- "Three-Parent" Babies: Ten Reasons Why We Need a Global Moratorium Now [pdf], an alert from Mothers for a Human Future
- "Genetically Modified Babies," Peggy O'Mara, peggyomara.com
- "Ethics of mitochondrial gene replacement: from bench to bedside," Annelien L Bredenoord and Peter Braude, BMJ
Multimedia:
- "UK Set to Legalize Babies With DNA From 3 Parents," KQED Forum
- In Depth: Should We Design Our Babies?, Aspen Ideas Festival
- "Proposed Treatment To Fix Genetic Diseases Raises Ethical Issues," NPR
- Intelligence Squared live debate, "Prohibit Genetically Engineered Babies"
- Blog Talk Radio's Roundtable radio show with Stephanie Robinson, "Designer Babies"
- Al Jazeera live debate, "The Baby Blueprint"
- Watch and Listen: Two Conversations about the Dangers of Genetically Modified Humans
- CCTV America live debate, "Expert Panel Debates the Manipulation of Human Genetics" with Marcy Darnovsky and David King
- KPIX segment on the "Three Parent Baby" with Marcy Darnovsky
A sample of letters submitted to the HFEA's mitochondria replacement public consultation: