We need to talk about this: About the new eugenics.

New technologies like CRISPR have the power to change the composition of populations, just like older technologies like PGD and chorionic villus sampling have already done in some countries. It's sometimes called the "new eugenics" but also goes by various other names such as "consumer eugenics" and "liberal eugenics". What it means is that today, we are determining what it may be like to live in tomorrow's societies and how inclusive they will be.

This book is not a rant. It was sparked by Glenn Cohen's first run of the course "Bioethics: The Law, Medicine, and Ethics of Reproductive Technologies and Genetics" in 2016. This debate is not about science versus nature or technology versus nature. In fact, this book is also specifically aimed at random scientists who are working on their doctorates, completing their post-docs or running grant programs at the various science foundations.

We all need to weigh in on this topic because if we don't, others will make these important decisions for us. Even the people who many of us expect to have all the answers usually don't. In China, a scientist spent three years in prison because of illegal CRISPR experiments on humans. Lay people, unfortunately, easily get mistaken for freaks or conspiracy thinkers. It's usually lawyers and bioethicists who force scientists to contemplate the implications of what they're doing.

Hank Greely, Stanford University, April 2018, about the first edition:
"I've just looked at the description and it sounds interesting - and I certainly agree that "we have to talk about this." Changes in reproduction are coming; we can be unprepared or partially prepared but the latter will require a lot of talking. And reading, and writing."

Version date paperback edition: 30 July 2024 (minor changes, including a missing table)
Also available as hardcover. Also available as a slightly different Kindle version.