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(LifeSiteNews) — In a first-of-its-kind experiment, scientists in China have created fertile mice from two male “parents” – an achievement being hailed by some as a step toward allowing two men to have genetically related children of their own.
Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, led by Yanchang Wei, combined the genetic material from two sperm cells inside an egg stripped of its nucleus. Using a technique called epigenome editing, they altered seven DNA sites which removed barriers that normally prevent development in embryos with only paternal genes.
Of the 259 embryos implanted in female mice, just two survived to adulthood. Both were male – and both later fathered healthy offspring, confirming the experiment’s success across two generations.
While scientists previously succeeded in producing mice with two mothers, reproducing with two fathers has proven significantly harder due to the need for extensive reprogramming of genetic expression. A similar attempt earlier this year required 20 genetic modifications to produce infertile mice. By contrast, this newer method avoids direct gene editing, using modified CRISPR proteins to adjust epigenetic markers rather than DNA sequences.
Despite the technical milestone, experts caution that applying such methods to humans is fraught with ethical and biological complications. Christophe Galichet of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre warned that “it is unthinkable to translate it to humans due to the large number of eggs required, the high number of surrogate women needed and the low success rate.”
Critics note that even conventional IVF often creates 7–8 embryos per cycle – most of which are discarded, frozen, or fail to survive – raising longstanding concerns about human embryo loss in reproductive medicine.
Writing in National Review, bioethicist Wesley J. Smith also warned that such experiments serve no legitimate medical need and are “about pure social engineering,” aimed at redefining parenthood and further weakening the natural family structure.
Proponents envision a future where same-sex couples bypass adoption or donors. Critics counter that such a future would commodify reproduction, erase motherhood, and intentionally deprive children of a mother.
Even if technical challenges are eventually overcome, questions remain about the long-term safety of epigenome editing – and whether society is prepared for the moral costs of this kind of reproductive manipulation.
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