Human genome editing after the “CRISPR babies”: The double-pacing problem and collaborative governance

Abstract

How to ensure the safe, effective, and ethical use of emerging biotechnologies, such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based genome editing, is a global challenge. The occurrence of the “CRISPR babies” in 2018 publicly brought this issue into sharp focus, and led to comprehensive regulatory reforms in China and various countries around the world. The current article analyzes this event-driven regulatory reform in China by elaborating the most salient provisions designed to prevent risk and protect individual rights, public health, and social morality relating to human genome editing in four important sectors of law: biosecurity law, civil code, criminal law and patent law. It highlights that, although regulation is being undertaken, the gaps between the law and advancing technology remain discernible, at both a national and transnational level (i.e., the “double-pacing problem”). Further attention and collaboration will be required to address the ongoing challenges associated with the use of human genome editing.