Jun 5, 2019

Congress blocks 3-parent IVF

Congress will leave in place a ban on genetically modified human embryos, despite a push to overturn it, Stat News reports.

Where it stands: Since 2015, Congress has effectively banned a procedure that combines genetic material from a mother, father and female donor.

Advocates for the procedure say it helps women who carry genetic diseases have healthy, disease-free children that are biologically related to them, and there's been a push to overturn the ban.

The other side: Advocates for the ban say it prevents genetically altered "CRISPR babies."

They won this round, as a House committee voted yesterday to keep the status quo intact.

Go deeper: A renewed push for 3-parent IVF in the U.S.