Designer Babies or Science Slaves?

Okay, I write inspired romantic suspense, but this latest scary tech has my mind reeling. Reeling with potential horror stories, but not fiction.

Sputniknewsreports, “He Jiankui, a researcher from Shenzhen, announced in an interview with AP news agency that he had recently helped the first twin girls (Lulu and Nana) with modified DNA be born. According to the scientist, the girls’ embryos were part of an experiment to induce HIV resistance in human DNA by switching off the CCR5 protein, which normally allows the virus to infect cells in a human body.”

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While seeking a cure for AIDS is laudable, switching off the CCR5 protein in someone’s body can have some serious oops effects down the road. We’ll just have to wait and see. So will the twins parents who were chosen from a pool of AIDS infected men and uninfected females with apparently no qualms about using their offspring for science.

That’s disturbing on so many levels.

“A University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert, Dr Kiran Musunuru, slammed the Chinese researcher’s experiment as “not morally or ethically defensible” and “unconscionable.” He noted in an interview with AP that the lack of CCR5 protein may have several adverse effects on a person, such as an increased chance of being infected by viruses such as the West Nile virus, and even dying from the flu.”

The experiment also begs the question about testing trials.

How will Jiankui (father of two of his own girls) prove Nana and Lulu are, in fact, AIDS resistant? Is he planning on exposing them? Is “Grace”, the mother all right with this? If so, and if the hypothesis proves faulty, will all parties involved be brought up on charges for intentionally infecting someone with a deadly virus?

Will the children be compensated? Will they have any recourse at all?

This is a sick form of slavery, people. Child abuse for sure. And perhaps even a revisiting of pagan practice that often sacrificed victims for the supposed good of the community. An entire class of humans—who have not given their consent—can now be manufactured for medical purposes. One has to wonder if these children are going to get extra treats in consideration of their contribution to mankind. Even ancients used to fatten up their sacrifices.

I can’t think of a time where inspired Christian fiction is needed more.

Write on!