Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

A team of American scientists reported the birth of a child with the DNA from three biological parents. This is a world first, but controversy is surrounding the news. Scientists intended to produce a healthy child for a mother who had a rare genetic abnormality, so they performed what is called a ‘spindle nuclear transfer’,  They removed the nucleus from the mother's egg and inserted it into a donor egg. The result was Abrahim Hassan—who is now five months old and by all measures appears to be healthy. Science is remarkable in that it has improved our health and increased life spans, but many question whether scientists have assumed the role of God and crossed an ethical line that opens the door to abuse. We should be reminded that when men don't have moral boundaries, they're prone to abuse that potentially outweighs any good.