On Mar. 13, 2019, Nature published a call for a global moratorium on heritable human genome editing signed by several prominent CRISPR researchers and bioethicists, including Eric Lander, Françoise Baylis, and Emmanuelle Charpentier.

They proposed a temporary moratorium on germline genome editing to create gene-edited children. This moratorium is not designed to stop in vitro research in the laboratory or research on somatic (nonreproductive) cells, but it would cover the implantation of gene-edited embryos or the creation of children using gene-edited sperm or eggs.

The authors specifically cite safety, scientific, technical, medical, and ethical/moral/societal reasons for calling the moratorium. Importantly, it is supported by the National Institutes of Health in the United States and the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).