Although the birth of genetically engineered babies is condemned by the world, scientists ask that these children be protected. This issue is re-emerging because the scientist 'creator' of these babies, He Jiankui, will be released from prison this year.
Two Chinese bioethicists, Qiu Renzong, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, and Lei Ruipeng of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, have asked the Chinese government to protect the world's first genetically edited baby.
This is the first official request regarding the issue of genetically engineered babies, and was submitted last month to the National Health Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology and China's Ministry of Education.
The scientists suggested the formation of a special research and care organization to treat Lulu, Nana, and Amy, the three babies resulting from Jiankui's gene engineering experiments.
flashback
He Jiankui, is a research scientist at Southern University of Science and Technology who is involved in two startups in biotechnology.
She became a global spotlight and caused controversy when in 2018 she announced that she had genetically engineered a pair of twin baby girls to be immune to HIV.
Jiakui's actions are considered a violation of strict regulations regarding the use of genetic engineering in humans. The Chinese government stopped the research and investigated it.
In 2019, a Chinese Court sentenced Jiankui. He had to serve a prison sentence of three years. Not only that, Jiankui was fined 3 million yuan.
The genetic engineering equipment used by Jiankui to engineer the twins he 'created' is actually nothing new in the world of science. The equipment was first made in 2012.
The trick is to use 'molecular scissors' to modify specific strands of DNA - either severing, replacing or clamping them.
Genetic engineering is thought to help prevent hereditary diseases by deleting or changing the problematic genetic code in embryos.
However, experts worry that gene modifications in embryos could be harmful, not only to the baby, but also to future generations who inherit the same genetic changes. Instead of getting acknowledgment or praise for his experiments, scientists both in China and around the world, condemned Jiankui's research.