The situation with midichlorians in Star Wars reminds me a lot of the use of the transporter in Star Trek. In both cases, they are a concept that was invented to do one simple thing, but the basic concept kind of mushroomed out of control.
The transporter in Star Trek was created so they didn't have to film endless spaceship landing scenes. Instead of having to do an elaborate, tricky and time-consuming model shot of the Enterprise landing, or a shuttle launching and landing, the transporter was a fairly simple fade from an empty set to the first frame of the actors on set, overlaid with some sparkly lights. An easy effect to pull off, and in seconds your characters are on the planet ready for an adventure. But then people asked them how it worked, and that opened a whole kettle of worms, and now the transporter can do anything from cloning people, to suspended animation, to making a cup of Earl Gray tea.
Midichlorians were invented so Qui-Gon could measure how strong the Force was in Anakin Skywalker. (George Lucas says otherwise. George Lucas says a lot of things.) Unlike the transporter, though, people hated the concept immediately. Instead of The Force being something mystical and transcendent, it's now just microbes. They could have distanced themselves from the concept by saying that midichlorians are a reaction to The Force, rather than its operating mechanism, but no. They seem determined to double down on it.
I suppose, at the very least, they have established that what Moff Gideon is doing is Wrong, and contrary to the laws of the universe.