Instead of being acclaimed a national hero, as he had fantasized, He Jiankui was put on trial at the end of 2019 in the People’s Court of Shenzhen. The proceedings had many elements of a fair trial: he was permitted to have his own attorneys and to speak in his own defense. But the verdict was not in doubt since he had pleaded guilty to the charge of “illegal medical practice.” He was sentenced to three years in prison, fined $430,000, and banned for life from working in reproductive science. “In order to pursue fame and profit, [he] deliberately violated the relevant national regulations and
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