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20130219_specials_iq2unedit.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1129&aggIds=6263392&d=6176&story=172137776&ft=nprml&f=172137776

What if, before your children were born, you could make sure they had the genes to be taller or smarter? Would that tempt you, or would you find it unnerving?

What if that genetic engineering would save a child from a rare disease?

As advancements in science bring these ideas closer to reality, a group of experts faced off two against two in an Intelligence Squared U.S. debate on the proposition: "Prohibit Genetically Engineered Babies."

Before the debate, 24 percent of the audience supported the idea of prohibiting genetic engineering of babies, while 30 percent were against. Forty-six percent were undecided. After each side presented its case, 41 percent of the audience voted for the motion, "Prohibit Genetically Engineered Babies," while 49 percent sided with the experts arguing against it — making them the winners of the debate.

Those debating were:

FOR THE MOTION

Sheldon Krimsky is the Lenore Stern professor of humanities and social sciences in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. He is also an adjunct professor in public health and family medicine in Tufts' School of Medicine and a visiting professor at Brooklyn College. Krimsky's research has focused on the links between science and technology, ethics and values, and public policy. He is the author of more than 180 papers and 11 books, including Genetic Justice: DNA Data Banks, Criminal Investigations, and Civil Liberties (2010), and the co-editor of Genetic Explanations: Sense and Nonsense (2013). Krimsky has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for "seminal scholarship exploring the normative dimensions and moral implications of science in its social context."

Robert Winston, a professor of science and society and emeritus professor of fertility studies at Imperial College London, runs a research program in the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology on transgenic technology in animal models, with a long-term aim of improving human transplantation. His research led to the development of gynecological microsurgery in the 1970s and various improvements in reproductive medicine, particularly in the field of endocrinology and IVF. His work on preimplantation genetic diagnosis enabled families carrying gene defects to have children free of fatal illnesses. He has been a visiting professor at a number of American, Australian and European universities, and was president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005. He is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

AGAINST THE MOTION

Nita A. Farahany studies the ethical, legal and social implications of biosciences and emerging technologies, particularly those related to neuroscience and behavioral genetics. She holds a joint appointment as professor of law at Duke Law and professor at Duke University's Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy. In 2010, she was appointed by President Obama to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. She also is the editor of The Impact of Behavioral Sciences on Criminal Law (2011), a book of essays from experts in science, law, philosophy and policy. In 2011, Farahany served as a visiting associate professor of law and the Leah Kaplan visiting professor of human rights at Stanford Law School. She teaches courses related to criminal law and criminal procedure, along with courses at the intersection of law, science and philosophy.

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