CLI Vice Pres. Dr. Prentice on Human Embryo Genetic Manipulation: “Modest but Meaningful Protection”
On December 17, 2015, Townhall published an op-ed by CLI Vice President Dr. David Prentice on the only new pro-life item in the federal Omnibus funding bill. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) proposed language to the bill to prevent the approval of the creation or use of genetically-manipulated human embryos in a clinical setting.
Though the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, first enacted in 1996, already prohibits federal funding of research that creates or destroys a human embryo, says Dr. Prentice, this new language fills a gap in the process so that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is precluded from even entertaining approval of any research submissions “in which a human embryo is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic modification.”
While the new language puts a pause on genetic experiments on human embryos, Dr. Prentice stresses that it “does not in any way hinder genetic therapies or trials for born individuals” and that it still allows “necessary research for authentic treatments to continue unabated.”
To read the full op-ed in Townhall, please see: https://townhall.com/columnists/davidaprentice/2015/12/17/modest-but-meaningful-protection-from-human-embryo-genetic-manipulation-n2094746
