Genome editing is a way of making changes to specific parts of a genome. Scientists have been able to alter DNA since the 1970s, but in recent years, they have developed faster, cheaper, and more precise methods to add, remove, or change genes in living organisms. Researchers are working to develop therapies that use gene editing to treat children or adults for a range of conditions, including sickle cell, hemophilia, and some forms of cancer and blindness.

Since 2015, a few laboratories have been experimenting with a far more controversial use of CRISPR: editing the genomes of early human embryos, eggs, and sperm. If edited embryos are used to start a pregnancy, the changes affect every cell in the body of any resulting child, that child’s offspring, their offspring, and so on. Dozens of countries already prohibit any attempt to start a pregnancy with edited embryos, yet some scientists seem eager to proceed.

In November 2018, researcher He Jiankui from Shenzhen, China announced the birth of the first gene-edited babies: twin girls publicly referred to as Lulu and Nana. In a reckless and widely condemned experiment, He had edited the DNA of two embryos and used them to start a pregnancy. The babies were born prematurely and their current health status is unknown.

These utterly unethical experiments have pushed the issue of human genome editing to the forefront of media, scientific, and public discussion and debate. Any discussion of how we might use this technology in the future needs to consider the serious societal consequences of human genome editing. This includes examining the rise of vast economic inequalities and the resurgence of overt xenophobia and racism in many parts of the world. It also includes acknowledging our eugenic histories and the present-day systemic oppression of women, people of color, Indigenous people, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities, particularly as they relate to reproduction and ideas about who is “fit” to reproduce.

Human genome editing is not just a scientific issue. It is a political and social justice issue that intersects with the concerns of multiple movements, including disability rights, LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights and justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and health justice. Read on to learn more about human genome editing and why everyone should have a say in the decisions we make about whether and how to use this powerful technology.