S.Res. 275Senate116th Congress (2019-2021)In Committee

A resolution calling for international ethical standards in genome editing research.

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 14, 2026 at 7:05 AM UTC

The Senate resolution urges the United States to help create worldwide ethical guidelines for genome‑editing research, especially work that could affect future generations. It condemns the 2018 experiments that led to pregnancies using edited human embryos and calls for broader public and scientific discussion before any clinical use. The resolution asks the State Department to collaborate with other countries and international bodies such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization to reach a global consensus on the permissible limits of human germline editing.

Key Provisions

The Senate formally opposes the 2018 genome‑edited human embryo pregnancies reported in the media.
It acknowledges that decisions about heritable genome editing affect all of humanity.
The Senate supports the international commission formed by the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society to develop a framework for human germline editing.
It urges the Secretary of State to work with other nations and international organizations, including the UN and WHO, to establish an international consensus on ethical clinical use of genome‑edited human embryos.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4824-4825)

Foreign Relations Committee

July 15, 2019

View full timeline

SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

July 15, 2019

SenateIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4824-4825)

Foreign Relations Committee

July 15, 2019

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S.Res. 275 on the floor

1 Democrat

Sen. Dianne FeinsteinD-CA · Jul 15, 2019

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a Senate Resolution calling for the international community to come together and determine the ethical limits of gene- editing technology to avoid future…

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a Senate Resolution calling for the international

community to come together and determine the ethical limits of gene- editing technology to avoid future misuse like what was recently discovered in China.

Gene editing is a powerful new technology that has the potential to lead to new therapies for devastating and previously untreatable diseases. Today, there are already promising clinical trials using gene-editing technology that hope to treat cancer, sickle cell disease and other terrible diseases.

However, like any new technology, there is potential for misuse and that is what happened with recent experiments in China. These experiments involving gene-edited human embryos failed in every measure to meet the ethical and scientific standards for research with human subjects.

First and foremost, the scientist put the health of the mother and her children at risk by using an unproven technology without adequate safeguards.

Furthermore, human clinical research must be conducted for a legitimate medical purpose. In this case, gene-editing was used to prevent the children from being able to acquire HIV. There are already safe and effective ways to prevent HIV infection that do not involve the use of gene-editing technology.

In addition, clinical research participants should never be misled when obtaining informed consent. According to reports, the scientist in charge of the experiments told the participants that the study would be testing a new vaccine for HIV, which is a gross mischaracterization of the gene-editing technology.

Finally, the scientist reportedly proceeded with the experiments knowing the genetic changes he created were different from what he originally intended. As a result, the children likely possess genetic mutations that did not undergo any pre-clinical testing and have never before existed in humans, leaving their long-term health in question.

Moreover, these unethical experiments have the potential to create new genetic diseases that could be passed down to future generations.

The international community must come together to condemn unethical human experimentation and prevent this from happening again. No one country can make this decision alone. International standards must be established to prevent unethical researchers from moving to whichever country has the loosest regulations.

Already, the World Health Organization and the United States' National Academies of Sciences, along with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have begun this important work.

Our resolution makes clear that unethical human experimentation has no place in a modern society and encourages collaborative international efforts to continue.

I am proud to introduce this resolution today. I hope my Senate colleagues will join us to ensure that gene-editing research is conducted in a responsible and ethical manner moving forward. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in SenateIssued July 15, 2019

III

116th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. RES. 275

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 15, 2019

Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Reed) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Calling for international ethical standards in genome editing research.

Whereas genome editing enables scientists to make changes to the genome in organisms by removing, adding, or replacing genetic material;

Whereas there is tremendous hope that genome editing technologies will lead to new therapies and cures for diseases;

Whereas unintended effects during the development of new medical technologies can stop or delay the development of successful new therapies;

Whereas pregnancies using genome-edited human embryos have not been shown to be safe;

Whereas the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association—

(1)

was first adopted in 1964;

(2)

has been revised over time; and

(3)

has provided guidance to the international community on ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects;

Whereas there are media reports—

(1)

of experiments carried out overseas in 2018 using genome-edited human embryos in pregnancies;

(2)

that those experiments resulted in the live birth of 2 babies;

(3)

that the primary scientist responsible for those experiments recognized that the experiments were carried out too quickly and without necessary open dialogue with regulators, the scientific community, and the public; and

(4)

that an additional pregnancy with genome-edited human embryos is underway;

Whereas the reported experiments in 2018 using genome-edited human embryos in pregnancies failed to meet the standards of human research ethics called for in the Declaration of Helsinki;

Whereas the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine has concluded that more research and broadly inclusive public deliberation are needed before clinical trials of germline editing of human embryos and gametes should be permitted;

Whereas the National Institutes of Health has declared support for an international moratorium on clinical application of germline genome editing and is working with other Federal agencies, international agencies, health and science organizations, patient communities, and the public to engage in a substantive debate about the benefits and risks of germline genome editing research;

Whereas the World Health Organization has created an expert advisory committee on developing standards for the governance and oversight of human genome editing;

Whereas an international commission has been convened by the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society of the United Kingdom to identify the scientific, medical, and ethical requirements that should be considered before heritable human genome editing should proceed; and

Whereas, as of July 2019—

(1)

the use of genome-edited human embryos for reproduction is prohibited in many countries; and

(2)

no international agreement exists as to whether clinical trials using genome-edited human embryos should proceed: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate—

(1)

opposes the experiments that resulted in pregnancies using genome-edited human embryos described in November 2018 media reports;

(2)

recognizes that the question of whether to proceed with heritable genome editing touches on all of humanity;

(3)

supports the international commission convened by the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society of the United Kingdom to develop an international framework regarding human germline editing; and

(4)

encourages the Secretary of State to work with other nations and international organizations, including the United Nations and the World Health Organization, to forge an international consensus regarding the limits of ethical clinical use of genome-edited human embryos.