Genetic and Bioethics
Advances in genetics and biotechnology have created ethical dilemmas that previous generations could not have imagined. The ability to edit genes, create embryos in the laboratory, clone organisms, and select the characteristics of future children raises profound questions about the nature of human identity, the limits of scientific intervention, and the relationship between human beings and their Creator. This lesson examines the key ethical issues in genetics and bioethics, the philosophical and theological arguments for and against various technologies, and the concept of "playing God."
Gene Editing and CRISPR
CRISPR-Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows scientists to make precise, targeted changes to an organism\'s DNA. Discovered as a gene-editing tool by Jennifer Doudna (b. 1964) and Emmanuelle Charpentier (b. 1968) in 2012 (awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020), CRISPR has transformed biology and raised urgent ethical questions.
- Somatic gene therapy: Editing the genes of somatic (non-reproductive) cells to treat genetic diseases such as sickle cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis, or Huntington\'s disease. Changes are confined to the individual patient and are not passed to future generations. Most ethicists — religious and secular — accept somatic gene therapy as morally comparable to conventional medical treatment.
- Germline gene editing: Editing the genes of reproductive cells (eggs, sperm, or embryos) so that changes are heritable — passed on to future generations. This raises far more serious ethical concerns:
- Irreversibility: Germline changes are permanent and cannot be reversed if unforeseen consequences arise. We cannot obtain consent from future generations who will be affected.
- Unknown risks: Off-target effects (unintended changes to other parts of the genome) could have unpredictable consequences for future generations.
- The He Jiankui case (2018): The Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui (b. 1984) used CRISPR to edit the genomes of twin girls ("Lulu" and "Nana") to make them resistant to HIV. The announcement was met with near-universal condemnation from the scientific community. He was sentenced to three years in prison in 2019. The case highlighted the inadequacy of existing regulatory frameworks and the dangers of unregulated germline editing.
Designer Babies
The term "designer babies" refers to the selection or modification of an embryo\'s genetic characteristics — not to prevent disease, but to choose or enhance desirable traits such as intelligence, athletic ability, height, eye colour, or physical appearance.
- Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD): PGD is already used in IVF to screen embryos for serious genetic conditions (e.g., cystic fibrosis, Huntington\'s disease, Down\'s syndrome). The ethical debate centres on where the line should be drawn: is it acceptable to select against serious diseases but not to select for non-medical traits?
- Saviour siblings: PGD can be used to select an embryo that is a tissue match for an existing sick child, so that the newborn\'s cord blood or bone marrow can be used to treat the sibling. The case of Adam Nash (born 2000) — the first "saviour sibling," whose cord blood was used to treat his sister Molly\'s Fanconi anaemia — raised questions about whether children should be created as a means to save others.
- Enhancement vs therapy: A key ethical distinction is between therapy (using genetic technology to treat or prevent disease) and enhancement (using it to improve normal human capacities). Most ethicists accept therapy but are far more cautious about enhancement.
Julian Savulescu and the Principle of Procreative Beneficence
Julian Savulescu (b. 1963), a bioethicist at the University of Oxford, has argued for the Principle of Procreative Beneficence: parents have a moral obligation to select the child, of the possible children they could have, who is expected to have the best life. If genetic technology allows parents to select embryos with enhanced intelligence, health, or other desirable traits, they are morally obligated to do so.