本文摘要：LONDON — Despite warnings that a new ethical threshold was being crossed, British lawmakers on Tuesday voted to allow the in vitro creation of babies using the DNA of three people, a procedure that could prevent the inheritance of genetic

LONDON — Despite warnings that a new ethical threshold was being crossed, British lawmakers on Tuesday voted to allow the in vitro creation of babies using the DNA of three people, a procedure that could prevent the inheritance of genetic diseases.伦敦——尽管有人警告说道，用三个人的DNA展开体外受精的作法，将不会容忍一道新的伦理界限，但本周二，英国国会议员投票通过了这项可以用来避免遗传病的技术。The move would make Britain the first country to authorize an in vitro fertilization technique that involves altering a human egg or embryo before transferring it to the womb.英国可能会沦为第一个批准后这种体外受精技术的国家。这种技术先对人类的卵子或胚胎展开改动，然后将其植入子宫。

The issue provoked fierce debate, with some opponents likening the procedure to genetic modification and arguing that it would open the way to the creation of so-called designer babies.这个问题引发了白热化争辩，一些反对者将这个方法和基因改建相提并论，指出这不会打开“婴儿设计”的大门。Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 382 to 128 in favor of the move, which still requires final approval from the House of Lords, the unelected upper chamber of Parliament. The House of Lords rarely rejects the decisions of its elected colleagues.下议院以382票赞同，128票赞成的结果通过了这项技术，但依然必须取得非民选的上议院的最后批准后。上议院很少夺权民选的下议院议员的要求。

The vote came after a number of objections were raised, including the fact that other nations, including the United States, have not taken such a step.在这项投票展开之前，早已有人明确提出若干异议，其中之一是还包括美国在内的其他国家都没使用这一技术。Describing the move as “bold” but “considered and informed,” the health minister, Jane Ellison, argued in favor of legalizing the procedure, which is designed to help women with mitochondrial diseases. Defects in the mitochondria — energy-producing structures outside a cell’s nucleus — can result in a range of complications, including muscular dystrophy and heart, kidney and liver failure.卫生部长珍埃里森(Jane Ellison)说道下议院的要求“很大胆”，但却“经过了深思熟虑”，这项技术目的为患上线粒体疾病的女性获取协助，她赞同将其合法化。

线粒体坐落于细胞核之外，功能是产生能量，线粒体缺失可能会造成一系列并发症，比如肌肉萎缩症和心、肾、肝功能中风。An opponent of the change, Edward Leigh, a Conservative lawmaker and former minister, said before the vote that it was a “monumental decision.”所持赞成意见的保守党议员爱德华利曾兼任过部长，他在投票前回应，这个要求的影响将不会“极为深远影响”。“If we believe that, sadly, given the nature of the human condition, there are these appalling diseases, where do we stop?” he asked, calling for full clinical trials to determine the procedure’s safety and effectiveness.“如果我们指出，真是的是，鉴于人类存活状况的性质，人间不存在着各种可怕疾病，那我们要在何处停手？”他问道。

他还拒绝展开全面的临床试验，以确认这项技术的安全性和有效性。“We will be the first state to authorize this in the world,” Mr. Leigh added. “We will be in a unique position, and we should ask ourselves why no other state — not the European Union, not the U.S., yet — thinks this process is absolutely safe.”“我们将沦为世界上第一个批准后该技术的国家，”他还回应。

“我们将处在一个尤其的方位。我们应当问问自己，为什么欧盟、美国和其他国家都不指出这项技术意味著安全性？”If it wins final approval, as seems likely, the technique is expected to be used only sparingly, and in the cases of women who have faulty mitochondria. The resulting embryo would have nucleus DNA from the child’s parents but mitochondrial DNA from a donor.该技术最后取得批准后的可能性相当大，如果感叹如此，预计它只不会少量应用于在患上线粒体疾病的女性中。

用这种技术产生的胚胎，必需从孩子父母的细胞核中萃取DNA，但线粒体DNA则来源于捐献者。Scientists say that the child would inherit the characteristics of the parent, other than the mitochondrial defect, rather than those of the donor.科学家们说道，除了线粒体缺失之外，孩子将不会承继父母的特征，而不是捐献者的特征。They also say that the procedure is different from the one used to genetically modify foods, in which individual genes are usually selected to be transferred from one organism into another.他们还认为，该技术不同于转基因食品技术。

后者一般来说是有选择地把个别基因从一个有机体移往到另一个上。Tuesday’s vote was welcomed by Robert Meadowcroft, chief executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, who described it in a statement as a “milestone in giving women an invaluable choice, the choice to become a mother without fear of passing on a lifetime under the shadow of mitochondrial disease to their child.”本周二的投票受到了肌肉萎缩症运动(Muscular Dystrophy Campaign)首席执行官罗伯特麦道克劳夫特(Robert Meadowcroft)的青睐，在一份声明中，他称之为该要求是一个“里程碑，为一些女性获取了十分宝贵的自由选择，让她们可以沦为母亲，而不用担忧把线粒体疾病遗传给孩子。”“There are currently no means to treat devastating mitochondrial diseases, which can cause muscle wastage, loss of vision, stroke-like episodes and a premature death,” the statement added. “Preventing inheritance, where possible, remains our only option, and that is why we have invested in and wholly support this pioneering technique.”“线粒体疾病可以导致极大伤痛，可能会造成肌肉衰退、失聪、卒中样发作和早亡，目前没任何化疗方法，”该声明说道。

“我们唯一的自由选择依然是尽量地避免把它遗传给下一代，这就是我们为什么投资于这种开创性的技术，并全心全意地反对它的原因。”Some groups opposed to the procedure, including Human Genetics Alert, had likened it to genetic modification. “Although food crops, bacteria and animals have been genetically engineered for the last 20 years, there has been a worldwide consensus, embodied in legislation in over 60 countries, that we should not attempt to do the same with human beings,” the group said on its website.“人类遗传学警报”(Human Genetics Alert)等的组织赞成这项技术，将它和基因改建相提并论。“虽然在过去20年里，基因工程早已牵涉到粮食作物、细菌和动物，但我们不应当尝试对人类做到某种程度的事情，这是一个世界性的共识，有60多个国家的法律都反映了这一共识，”该的组织在网站上回应。“This is because crossing this line would lead inevitably to a future of ‘designer babies’ and a new consumer-driven eugenics,” the group said.“这是因为，一旦容忍这条界限，将来就不会不可避免地经常出现‘婴儿设计’和消费者驱动的新型优生学活动，”该的组织回应。

“There are also serious ethical objections to this procedure, which involves the destruction of human embryos as part of the process,” Bishop John Sherrington said in the statement.“这项技术在伦理上也遭了反感赞成，因为它牵涉到毁坏人类的胚胎的组织，”主教约翰杜林顿(John Sherrington)在声明中说道。The Church of England argued that there should be “more time for consultation and research,” while adding that the church did not want to prevent people “from benefiting from a major advance in genetics and assisted reproduction.”英国教会指出应当“用更好的时间来磋商和研究”，同时回应，教会想制止人们“从遗传学和辅助生殖技术的重大进展中受益”。

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