Human Genetic Editing: Analysis of Some Ethical Challenges
Journal: Advances in Medicine and Engineering Interdisciplinary Research DOI: 10.32629/ameir.v2i3.2430
Abstract
Scientific advances suggest that, in the near future, the possibility of editing the genes of a new individual, either by acting on germ cells or in preimplantation embryos, will be within the reach of the entire population, a possibility that raises important ethical concerns. At the end of 2018, the international scientific community expressed its concern about the experiments carried out by Dr. He Jiankui who, through the CRISPR-Cas 9 technique, genetically modified human embryos for reproductive purposes, achieving the birth of at least two girls. In this article, we will make an ethical analysis of Dr. Jiankui's experiment following Emanuel's criteria; according to this view, this experiment did not comply with any of the ethical standards commonly used by research ethics committees when evaluating a protocol. We will then review the ethical controversies related to the use of human gene editing in germ cells (sperms and eggs) and preimplantation embryos for reproductive purposes. Considering that these changes are heritable for future generations, and that the technique is still in an experimental stage, we will argue in favor of a moratorium on its use for these purposes. When gene editing is used without reproductive purposes but solely for research, we will justify why we consider it necessary to distinguish the application of this technique in germ cells from research in human embryos, a distinction that may be questioned depending on whether the human embryo is considered as a living organism of the human species. Likewise, we will briefly discuss the differences that exist between the use of genetic editing techniques to cure or prevent diseases, and that used to produce improvements or "enhancement" of the human race, since the latter has several moral objections. We will end with a brief analysis of regulatory aspects in Chile and internationally, since some of the applications of these techniques raise ethical issues that have highlighted the need for strong supervision in this area.
Keywords
gene editing; CRISPR-Cas system; ethics; genetic enhancement; research
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[10] Hurlbut JB. Human genome editing: ask whether, not how. Nature. 2019;565(7738):135. doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-07881-1
[11] Rehmann-Sutter C. Why human germline editing is more problematic than selecting between embryos: Ethically considering intergenerational relationships. New Bioeth. 2018;24(1):9-25. doi: 10.1080/20502877.2018.1441669
[12] Battisti D. Affecting future individuals: Why and when germline genome editing entails a greater moral obligation towards progeny. Bioethics. 2021;35(5):487-495. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12871
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[18] Sandel M. The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering. Cambrige: Harvard University Press. 2007.
[19] Habermas J. The Future of Human Nature. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. 2003.
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[24] Baylis F, Darnovsky M, Hasson K, Krahn TM. Human Germ Line and Heritable Genome Editing: The Global Policy Landscape. CRISPR J. 2020;3(5):365-377. doi: 10.1089/crispr.2020.0082
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