As science continues to develop, more and more researchers are becoming interested in the prospect of genetically modifying humans in the embryo. This would allow parents to choose certain favorable characteristics of their children, making the developmental process more selective and in the control of humans versus natural selection. This may also allow scientists to prevent many genetic diseases and other medical conditions that may become fatal (Times Editorial Board, 2017). So far, genetic modification has been done successfully in plants and animals, but humans would be a significant step. Despite this, several ethical issues must be taken into consideration about how far scientists should be able to go when altering the genes of humans.
A major issue thus far is that there is very little information known about the genetic modification of humans. Before scientists were able to modify plants and animals, a lot of testing was involved in the process. Consequently, there are a lot of risks involved such as the potential death of the animals being altered before they are born. The Times Editorial Board (2017) points out that there is a significant amount that scientists do not know about the effects of editing human genes. Although certain diseases may appear to be prevented or solved in the embryo, people are capable of encountering problems later in life. For example, a specific alteration of one gene may prevent one disease from occurring, but that same alteration could make the person more prone to acquiring something else later in life. This could affect the individual himself or be passed down through the generations if this person has offspring (NIH, 2017). Additionally, a baby may appear cured from a specific disease in the embryo, but then scientists could discover that once the baby is born, that issue has actually not been solved (DNewsChannel, 2015). At that point, it may be too late to change. Since so few studies have been successfully performed with this, scientists are in the very early stages. Therefore, many would consider the genetic modification of humans at this time to be dangerous and not even open to experimentation until further research is confirmed. At the moment, safety should be of primary concern and the less knowledge that is acquired, the more dangerous the modification process is.
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Another ethical issue to take into consideration is that babies in the embryo cannot give consent (Times Editorial Board, 2017). Currently, there are many political issues involving things such as abortion in regards to when an embryo can actually be considered alive. In this respect, experimenting with an embryo may become a touchy subject for those who believe babies are alive before they are actually brought into the real world or any time after they are conceived. Obviously, babies in the embryo are not capable of deciding whether or not it is appropriate for scientists to be experimenting on them. There is a lot of risk involved and it is possible that many of these embryos could die in the process, although that is not the intention. Therefore, consent would theoretically be obtained by the parents of the children in order to decide whether or not certain babies will be conceived specifically for experimentation. Parents may also agree to be involved in this process in order to choose specific traits for their children, assuming this becomes something successful later on. However, the Times Editorial Board (2017) also points out that certain traits can be subjective, again, not involving the baby with any of these decisions because he/ she is incapable.
In order to consider the moral obligations of this issue, some believe it must be addressed on a larger scale. There are scientists with knowledge about this process who believe experimentation must be stopped worldwide until further research has been tested for years and confirmed (DNewsChannel, 2015). In other words, experimentation on similar structures should be performed first and with more constant results, as with plants and animals. Only then is it okay to think about this directly in the case of humans. Since this is an issue that is universal, that is why scientists are proposing that we treat it this way and involve scientists from across the globe. This is beneficial in a number of other ways, as scientists internationally may discover things within their research that would help others and prevent problems with the human race. Currently, FDA approval is required for human therapies, so this would include genetic testing as well (Times Editorial Board, 2017). The scientists who are involved in the research of human genetic modification must be careful not to break any of these rules and to take into consideration the overall feelings of society.
Finally, many people will be opposed to this due to religious beliefs (NIH, 2017). There is a large percentage of those who believe the conception, developmental and birthing processes should occur naturally. Any alteration of this would be rejecting the will of nature, or other religious figures in which they believe. These people also believe that parents should not be concerned with choosing certain qualities for their children because they should love their children regardless of the characteristics they have. Overall, there are many potential personal feelings involved with this scientific prospect.
Although science has vastly improved over the years, ethical obligations must be taken into consideration in regards to the genetic modification of humans. First, it is known that not a lot of research has been performed on this subject; consequently, there is a significant lack of research about whether genetic modification of humans is actually safe and will be successful over a longer span of time. Second, babies in the embryo cannot give consent, forcing either the scientists or the parents to decide how to proceed. Finally, many are opposed to this due to religious beliefs of natural occurrence. All in all, it seems that scientists will need to gather more information before further experimentation occurs, ensuring that this is actually safe.
- DNewsChannel. (2015, March 24). Should We Make Designer Babies? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHesvjW1bKM
- NIH. (2017). What are the ethical concerns about genome editing? Retrieved from https://www.genome.gov/27569225/what-are-the-ethical-concerns-about-genome-editing/
- Times Editorial Board. (2017, August 03). The ethics of creating GMO humans. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-gene-editing-humans-20170803-story.html
