I am sure there are several reasons for He Jankui going through with his experiment to first successful alter genes of a pair of twin babies, despite it being considered unethical by many. He probably went through with the experiment to be the first person to do and illustrate to the world it can be successful done to alter genes of an Embryo. Part of it is he wants to help people in general by getting rid of genes that lead to harmful diseases, in this case the gene for HIV. However, many people in the community disagree with his actions because it is not medically justified. “The underlying purpose of doing the experiment was obviously to show that they could do gene editing on an embryo, but the purpose for the party involved does not make any sense,” says Anthony Fauci, an HIV/AIDS researcher, “There are so many ways to adequately, efficiently, and definitively protect yourself against HIV that the thought of editing the genes of an embryo to get to an effect that you could easily do in so many other ways in my mind is unethical.” Overall, by Jankui caring through with the experiment her has risked the lives of innocent, healthy twins. There is no way of knowing if his alterations will cause long- term effects in the twins. The Chinese government is handling it probably the best way possibly by sending him to prison for several years. By doing so, hopefully this sets a standard to help prevent people from endangering people’s lives just for answers.
Unfortunately, unethical medical/ science experiments have always been a problem, because at the end of the day people want answers even if they hurt innocent people. J. Marion Sims, the father of gynecology, performed a serious of horrifying surgeries on slave women. He did not offer anesthesia, a choice to have the surgery, and often permanently ruined women who were later rejected by society. This situation is similar to Jankui’s because both did not offer consent to their patients and had potential to seriously injure their patients.
One effect this might have on the relationship between the public and the medical community is that it could result in a lack of trust from the public. It illustrates that some scientists are willing to go against the safety and best interests of their patients. Jankui’s experiment has led to lots of curiosity, UC Berkeley conducted a study and now people are even more interested in alternating the genes of embryos. So, it is possible more gene- alternated babies will be in our future.
Pappas, S. (2018, June 29). 9 Absolutely Evil Medical Experiments. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/13002-7-absolutely-evil-medical-experiments-tuskegee-syphilis.html
Li, J. (2019). Experiments that led to the first gene-edited babies: the ethical failings and the urgent need for better governance. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 20(1): 32-38. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6331330
Normile, D. (2018). CRISPR bombshell: Chinese researcher claims to have created gene-edited twins. Science mag. Retrieved from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/crispr-bombshell-chinese-researcher-claims-have-created-gene-edited-twins