Two major reports in the UK and USA have recently sanctioned as ethically acceptable genome editing of future generations for the treatment of serious rare inherited conditions. This marks an important turning point in the application of recombinant DNA techniques to humans. The central question this paper addresses is how did it became possible for human genetic engineering (HGE) of future generations to move from an illegitimate idea associated with eugenics in the 1980s to a concrete proposal sanctioned by scientists and bioethicists in 2020? The paper uses the concept of a regime of normativity to understand the co-evolution and mutual shaping of technology, imaginaries, norms and governance processes in debates about HGE in the USA and UK. It will be argued that interlinked discursive, institutional, political and technological changes have made proposals for the use of genome editing in the genetic engineering of future generations both “thinkable” and legitimate.

最近，英国和美国的两份主要报告已批准对后代进行伦理上可接受的基因组编辑，以治疗严重的罕见遗传病。这标志着重组 DNA 技术应用于人类的一个重要转折点。本文解决的核心问题是，后代的人类基因工程 (HGE) 如何从 1980 年代与优生学相关的非法想法转变为 2020 年科学家和生物伦理学家批准的具体提案？本文使用规范性制度的概念来理解在美国和英国关于 HGE 的辩论中技术、想象、规范和治理过程的共同进化和相互塑造。人们会争辩说，相互关联的话语的、制度的、