Britain Could Legalize Three-Parent Babies

Britain is on path to become the first country in the world to allow the creation of “three-parent” babies if MPs vote in favor of changing the law tomorrow. 

The procedure replaces a small amount of faulty DNA in a mother’s egg with healthy DNA from a second woman, so that the baby would inherit genes from two mothers and one father.  The idea behind this is to prevent certain genetic diseases from being passed onto children.  While most experts are in favor, handfuls have raised concerns including the Church of England. 

Under current UK law, the procedure is banned because genetically altered embryos cannot be implanted into a woman.  If MPs in the House of Commons approve the change in law, the decision will pass to the House of Lords for a vote at the end of the month; if the Lords agree the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority could license clinics to perform the procedure as soon as this fall.  The first of these babies could be born in 2016.

See Ian Sample, ‘Three-Parent’ Babies Explained: What Are the Concerns and Are They Justified?, The Guardian, Feb. 2, 2015.