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You may remember a short period in the 1990s when a broad consensus emerged among biologists about the ethics of human genetic engineering. Somatic cell gene therapy was considered an acceptable biomedical research program, whereas germ line genetic modification was treated as unethical. By the new millennium, that moral boundary had eroded.
A recent debate in New York City in which I was a participant highlighted the cultural change. Our topic: “Babies Should Not Be Genetically Engineered.” I argued in support of the proposition to prohibit the genetic modification of human reproductive cells prior to gestation in the womb.
Two compelling reasons to genetically alter human reproductive cells in preparation for childbirth, I argued, are for curing or preventing a disease or for the “enhancement” of a child. With respect to the former, there are safer and more dependable methods for preventing the birth of a child with a severe genetic abnormality than by genetic modification of the germ cells. The use of prenatal screening or preimplantation embryo diagnosis will suffice in most cases to prevent the birth of a...
A recent debate in New York City in which I was a participant highlighted the cultural change. Our topic: “Babies Should Not Be Genetically Engineered.” I argued in support of the proposition to prohibit the genetic modification of human reproductive cells prior to gestation in the womb.
Two compelling reasons to genetically alter human reproductive cells in preparation for childbirth, I argued, are for curing or preventing a disease or for the “enhancement” of a child. With respect to the former, there are safer and more dependable methods for preventing the birth of a child with a severe genetic abnormality than by genetic modification of the germ cells. The use of prenatal screening or preimplantation embryo diagnosis will suffice in most cases to prevent the birth of a...
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