Ethics advisers call for broader debate on genome editing

Discussions on genetic technologies must go beyond questions of safety, EU advisers say

The European Commission’s panel of independent ethics advisers has called for a “broad, inclusive and nuanced” debate on the use of genome editing in plants, humans and other animals.

The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, an interdisciplinary panel of 15 experts chaired by German medical ethicist Christiane Woopen, said on 19 March that more resources were needed to allow society to engage with and deliberate ethical questions on gene editing.