Geneva Statement on Heritable Human Genome Editing: The Need for Course Correction

Following a meeting at the Brocher Foundation in Switzerland, a group of public interest advocates released this statement on heritable human genome editing. They viewed this statement as a corrective to the many statements released by experts in the sciences and bioethics. The authors object to endorsements from these groups to proceed with heritable genome editing research. The statement foregrounds social justice, human rights, and civil society perspectives and reaffirms the need for “broad societal consensus” invoked in the statement from the First International Summit on Human Genome Editing before deciding whether to proceed with heritable genome editing. The authors attempt to correct widespread misrepresentations of the science of heritable genome editing, to incorporate more discussion of social and historical contexts into genome editing conversations, and to build forms of public engagement and empowerment.