PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsUS Congress moves to block embryo editing

BioNews

US Congress moves to block embryo editing

Published 3 July 2015 posted in News and appears in BioNews 809

Author

Cait McDonagh

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.

The US Congress has released a bill that would prohibit the Food and Drug Administration from spending any money in relation to projects that involve editing the human genome...

The US Congress has released a bill that would prohibit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from spending any money in relation to projects that involve editing the human genome.

According to a report appearing in Nature, the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, which funds the FDA, has proposed in its 2016 spending bill to remove funding for evaluating research or clinical applications in this area.

If passed, the legislation would also require the FDA to convene a panel of experts, including those from religious organisations, to examine a review from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the ethics of mitochondrial donation.

The proposed legislation comes in the wake of an announcement from Chinese scientists that they had begun research on human embryos using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique (see BioNews 799). In recent months, this has put afterburners on the debate concerning the medical and ethical impacts of editing the human germline.

However, the Nature article raised questions over whether the implications of the bill are more political than practical; as applications to the FDA are automatically approved after 30 days unless the FDA seeks to block them, moving to block an application would require spending public funds, which the bill would prohibit.

Bioethicist Hank Greely from Stanford University, California, therefore suggests that the legislation may be a case of the Congress' Republican majority 'trying to throw a bone to some of its supporters'.

Additionally, the type of research carried out by the Chinese scientists would not have been covered by this proposed legislation as they used nonviable embryos. The US legislation would only extend to viable embryos or sperm and eggs that could be used to create a viable embryo.

Currently, US law prevents the federal government from funding research that leads to destruction of human embryos or embryos created solely for research (see BioNews 688). However, privately funded research involving editing the human germline is legal.

In April, the National Institutes of Health affirmed that gene editing of embryos falls under the Dickey-Wicker amendment, meaning that no federal funds will be made available for such research (see BioNews 800).

The bill also requires the FDA to create a committee including religious experts to examine a report that it commissioned from the IOM around the ethics of mitochondrial donation.

Jonathan Moreno, a bioethicist from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, told Nature that he couldn't understand why Congress was adding this extra layer of 'taxpayer-supported ethics reflection'. 'You don’t have to be a faith-based bioethicist to recognise that there's some global responsibility for modifying the human germline,' he commented.

However, William Kearney from the National Academy of Sciences, which oversees the IOM, commented: 'We always strive to balance our committees with the expertise necessary to carry out the study in a scientific manner in order to produce an evidence-based report.'

The bill still has a way to go to before it can become law, and will need to be approved by Congress, the Senate and then by the President to take effect.

Related Articles

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
29 August 2017 • 2 minutes read

International genetics groups advocate germline CRISPR research

by Dr Greg Ball

Research into human germline genome editing should continue, recommends an international group of 11 human genetics organisations...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
9 January 2017 • 2 minutes read

US Senate passes regenerative medicine act

by Rachel Siden

Stem cell therapies could be granted accelerated approval by the US Food and Drug Administration as part of a new bill passed by the Senate last week...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
18 April 2016 • 3 minutes read

Gene editing of human embyros must be allowed, says Hinxton group

by Kirsty Oswald

The influential Hinxton group has said that the genetic modification of human embryos should be allowed...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
5 February 2016 • 2 minutes read

Panel recommends FDA approval of mitochondrial donation

by Kirsty Oswald

Clinical investigations of mitochondrial donation are 'ethically permissable', says a panel of experts reporting to the US Food and Drug Administration...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
21 September 2015 • 3 minutes read

UK scientists seek permission to edit embryos

by Kirsty Oswald

Researchers from London's Francis Crick Institute are seeking permission to edit the genome of human embryos...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
Comment
11 May 2015 • 4 minutes read

Gene editing of human embryos — more ethical questions to answer

by Dr Calum MacKellar

The short article by Robin Lovell-Badge entitled 'Editing human embryos' addressing the work of Junjiu Huang and colleagues in China on gene editing in human embryos - such as the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 system - raises a number of ethical questions....

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
1 May 2015 • 3 minutes read

NIH 'will not fund gene editing of human embryos'

by Ayala Ochert

The US National Institutes of Health has issued a firm statement that it will not fund any research involving gene-editing technologies in human embryos...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
Comment
28 April 2015 • 6 minutes read

Editing human embryos

by Professor Robin Lovell-Badge

As Chinese scientists report the first gene editing of human embryos, is a moratorium on such practice justified?...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
24 April 2015 • 3 minutes read

Chinese scientists edit genes of human embryos

by Ayala Ochert

Chinese scientists report the first-ever genetic modification of human embryos using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique, confirming rumours that these highly controversial experiments were underway...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
20 March 2015 • 2 minutes read

Embryo gene-editing is unsafe and unethical, say gene-editing scientists

by Meghna Kataria

Scientists have called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the gene-editing technique CRISPR/Cas9 in human embryos and germ cells...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Google partners with Broad Institute on genome analysis

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Common virus may be cause of recent hepatitis cases in children

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

CRISPR genome editing treatments may raise cancer risk

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Differences in IVF-conceived children's size disappear by adolescence

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856