Designer babies, once found only in science fiction, are now a reality and, in the not-too-distant future, one can imagine a world in which prospective parents can shop for designer babies at genetic supermarkets or request designer babies made-to-order. This talk will explore how available technologies, including CRISPR genome-editing technology for reproduction, will dramatically change our world.
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Speaker
Françoise Baylis
Françoise Baylis C.M., O.N.S, PhD, FRSC, FISC is a leading philosopher and bioethics expert, renowned for her pioneering research at the intersection of healthcare ethics, policy, and practice. She has shaped global genome editing standards through her work with the WHO and serves on the International Science Council's Governing Board. As Distinguished Research Professor Emerita at Dalhousie University, Baylis is dedicated to advocating for a more ethical and inclusive approach to science and biotechnology. Her work challenges conventional bioethics, pushing for broader, deeper thinking on health, science, and public policy.
Baylis is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia, as well as an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the International Science Council. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022. That same year, she was awarded the Killam Prize for the Humanities, followed by the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize in Humanities in 2023—Canada's highest honours for humanities scholars.
She is the author of the award-winning Altered Inheritance: CRISPR and the Ethics of Human Genome Editing, a critical guide to the ethical issues surrounding genome editing.
In November 2024, Baylis was elected President of the RSC for a three-year term beginning in 2025.
For more information about Françoise Baylis’ work, visit her website: www.francoisebaylis.ca