Marin Yacht Club
24 Summit Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901

Price: $35 per person
Includes reception with light refreshments and program

Professor Hank Greely, who will discuss the future of human reproduction in a world in which gene editing is on the horizon. As we move closer to gene-edited babies, what happens when people give up sex for conception and rely exclusively on fertility clinics? It won’t be long before parents are able to make 100 embryos from male sperm and female skin cells (no more costly, unpleasant, and risky than egg harvest), and use those results to select which embryos to transfer for possible implantation, pregnancy, and birth.

In addition to taking the “most preferred” results of embryos, there’s also the potential of CRISPR’ing the chosen embryo to create even greater genetic “advantages.” Economic, social, political, and legal factors make some of these seemingly unlikely results highly likely in the United States; but what are the ethical and societal ramifications of this research and are we looking at it closely enough in our desire for the perfect baby?

Doors open and appetizers served at 6:30 PM

Lecture begins at 7:00 PM

Henry T. (Hank) Greely, BA ’74, is the Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics at Stanford University. He specializes in ethical, legal, and social issues arising from advances in the biosciences, particularly from genetics, neuroscience, and human stem cell research.