Honestly with Bari Weiss Is Designing Babies Unethical—or a Moral Imperative?
69 snips
Dec 2, 2025 
In a thought-provoking discussion, Jamie Metzl, a technology and healthcare futurist, advocates for regulated germline editing, highlighting potential benefits. O. Carter Snead, a bioethicist, argues against such interventions, emphasizing parental humility and societal risks. Dr. Allyson Berent shares her personal experience with her daughter's condition, making a compelling case for editing to prevent suffering. Dr. Lydia Dugdale raises alarms about safety and the historical implications of eugenics, urging for cautious conversation on this emerging technology.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Heritable Changes Are Ethically Distinct
- Germline editing alters sperm, eggs, or embryos so changes are inherited by future generations.
- That inheritable nature makes germline editing ethically and practically distinct from somatic therapies.
Bad Actors Don’t Nullify Ethical Paths
- Jamie Metzl condemns He Jiankui's 2018 CRISPR babies as unethical human experimentation.
- He uses that example to argue for careful governance rather than blanket prohibition.
UK Mitochondrial Transfer As Precedent
- Jamie Metzl pointed to eight UK children born via mitochondrial transfer as existing examples of heritable intervention.
- He uses the UK process to show how deliberation and oversight produced life-saving outcomes.
