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The ability to offer genetic information to inform reproductive decisions, for example through reproductive genetic carrier screening, expanded prenatal testing, or preimplantation embryo screening, is increasingly prevalent. A defining feature of such technologies is that they offer information on many genetic conditions in the one test. Common rationales for expanding the offer of such information include that the results can inform people’s decisions regarding selective reproduction or prepare them to parent a child with a genetic condition.

PROJECT NARRATIVE Human genome editing technologies are evolving rapidly and with this evolution brings questions regarding governance and the ethical implications involved in applying these technologies. The He Jiankui controversy is the primary example of the potential exploitation of HGE and the importance of self-governance. This project will be the first case-study to evaluate self-governance in the realm of human genome editing technologies, the findings of which will be validated through a survey of HGE scientists.

PROJECT NARRATIVE Between 1907 and the mid-1970s, 32 US states passed and implemented eugenic sterilization laws that authorized the sterilization of people considered unfit. Our epidemiological, historical and mixed-methods analysis of over 32,000 eugenic sterilization requests in five US states (California, North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan and Utah) identifies varying demographic patterns and documents changes in how eugenics laws were applied over time.

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