[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 275 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 275

Calling for international ethical standards in genome editing research.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 15, 2019

  Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Reed) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

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                               RESOLUTION


 
Calling for international ethical standards in genome editing research.

Whereas genome editing enables scientists to make changes to the genome in 
        organisms by removing, adding, or replacing genetic material;
Whereas there is tremendous hope that genome editing technologies will lead to 
        new therapies and cures for diseases;
Whereas unintended effects during the development of new medical technologies 
        can stop or delay the development of successful new therapies;
Whereas pregnancies using genome-edited human embryos have not been shown to be 
        safe;
Whereas the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association--

    (1) was first adopted in 1964;

    (2) has been revised over time; and

    (3) has provided guidance to the international community on ethical 
principles for medical research involving human subjects;

Whereas there are media reports--

    (1) of experiments carried out overseas in 2018 using genome-edited 
human embryos in pregnancies;

    (2) that those experiments resulted in the live birth of 2 babies;

    (3) that the primary scientist responsible for those experiments 
recognized that the experiments were carried out too quickly and without 
necessary open dialogue with regulators, the scientific community, and the 
public; and

    (4) that an additional pregnancy with genome-edited human embryos is 
underway;

Whereas the reported experiments in 2018 using genome-edited human embryos in 
        pregnancies failed to meet the standards of human research ethics called 
        for in the Declaration of Helsinki;
Whereas the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine has 
        concluded that more research and broadly inclusive public deliberation 
        are needed before clinical trials of germline editing of human embryos 
        and gametes should be permitted;
Whereas the National Institutes of Health has declared support for an 
        international moratorium on clinical application of germline genome 
        editing and is working with other Federal agencies, international 
        agencies, health and science organizations, patient communities, and the 
        public to engage in a substantive debate about the benefits and risks of 
        germline genome editing research;
Whereas the World Health Organization has created an expert advisory committee 
        on developing standards for the governance and oversight of human genome 
        editing;
Whereas an international commission has been convened by the National Academy of 
        Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society of the 
        United Kingdom to identify the scientific, medical, and ethical 
        requirements that should be considered before heritable human genome 
        editing should proceed; and
Whereas, as of July 2019--

    (1) the use of genome-edited human embryos for reproduction is 
prohibited in many countries; and

    (2) no international agreement exists as to whether clinical trials 
using genome-edited human embryos should proceed: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) opposes the experiments that resulted in pregnancies 
        using genome-edited human embryos described in November 2018 
        media reports;
            (2) recognizes that the question of whether to proceed with 
        heritable genome editing touches on all of humanity;
            (3) supports the international commission convened by the 
        National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, 
        and the Royal Society of the United Kingdom to develop an 
        international framework regarding human germline editing; and
            (4) encourages the Secretary of State to work with other 
        nations and international organizations, including the United 
        Nations and the World Health Organization, to forge an 
        international consensus regarding the limits of ethical 
        clinical use of genome-edited human embryos.
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