A slippery slope to human germline modification

Abstract

The HFEA, which had originally asked that the mitochondrial-replacement technique being developed in the United Kingdom, called pro-nuclear transfer, be tested in non-human primates, later dropped that requirement - after US researchers found the technique to be unsuccessful in macaques. [...]many secular and actively pro-choice scientists, bioethi- cists and womens-health advocates have voiced grave and detailed concerns about the safety and utility of mitochondrial replacement, and about authorizing the intentional genetic modification of children and their descendants.