Chapter 12 Gene Editing in Human Embryos. A Comment on the Ethical Issues Involved

Abstract

CRISPR gene edition constitutes one of the most promising tools in the area of human health. However, it also involves a number of issues that require further consideration. The concerns, indeed, are twofold: the first are connected with the safety of the technology, while the second relate to some ethical issues and it is precisely those ethical issues that this chapter will deal with. To this purpose, we will focus on four main issues: the necessity of this technology and the risk issues involved; the embryo loss involved; the alteration of the human genome and human identity; and the enhancement/eugenics issue. Some of our main conclusions are the following: (1) We strongly support the idea that if further research reduces the risks involved, then the reasons for the prohibition of gene editing in human beings will vanish; (2) Embryo loss is not a key factor in terms of the ethical discussion of gene editing; (3) a general ban on human embryo editing on the grounds of the defense of the human genome is clearly unjustified, even if we really hold this approach; (4) a general ban on gene editing affecting the embryo’s germ line genetic identity is hard to understand and entails a number of questions that hinder its practical applicability; and (5) referring to eugenics can hardly justify a general ban on the use of gene editing in human embryos, considering the benefits that are at stake and the moral imperative to pursue them.