The Ethics of CRISPR and Genetic Engineering | Osher Lifelong …

Genetic engineering : the deliberate modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material.

Genetic engineering is something that has been used in science fiction to scare people for decades. We typically end up with either tyrants who use their super intelligence and super strength to recreate the world in a manner or their choosing, or with monsters. (Or both.)

Genetic engineering has roots in the eugenics movement of the early 1900s. During this time, individuals deemed unfit were sterilized (For more, read about Buck v. Bell). Also, the American Eugenics Movement provided impetus for the German "Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases" in the 1930s.

But with the advent of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) the science fiction aspects of genetic engineering are quickly becoming a reality, and as a society we need to decide now the ethics and morality of genetic engineering in humans.

But first, what is CRIPSR? CRISPR works like a pair of molecular scissors, cutting DNA strands and allowing for specific gene editing. (For more on DNA, see this article by the NIH. For information about CRISPR listen to this excellent Make Me Smart podcast: CRISPR for Beginners)

We can get into the weeds with the technical details, but for the purposes of considering the ethics, let's consider broadly the two primary types of genetic manipulation: human germline editing and somatic cell editing.

Somatic cell editing is what is used when doctors and researchers use genetic editing to attempt to cure disease like cancer. Genetic engineering is used in this case, to go in an fix and existing problem. These changes end with the individual.

Germline editing is when genetic changes are made that may be passed along to succeeding generations.

The ethics of these two types of procedures are distinct and different, yet overlapping.

Germline editing makes many people squeamish, because it affects changes that would be inherited and passed down. It could allow a government to create a race of super warriors with increased strength and stamina and decreased fear (See: Many many science fiction story lines). But it could also allow society to wipe out inherited diseases such as sickle cell anemia.

The ethical problem lies in the fact that allowing for the treatment of diseases opens the door for cosmetic or vanity use of germline editing, since if the technique itself is ethical, it should be allowed for all types of uses.

Most people see somatic cell editing, which is not inherited, as a good when it is used to cure a disease like cancer. The ethics are less clear if somatic cell editing is used to "improve" an individual by as increasing their intelligence or strength and speed..

Is it ethical for people who can afford to do so to "improve" their children? Will this create two separate classes of people: Those who can afford improvements and those who cannot? Will this widen the gulf between the rich and the poor?

Science fiction has spent years depicting these ethical morasses. From Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan to Jurassic Park to The Fly, there are depictions of genetic engineering gone wrong. But the reality is that these dilemmas are less likely to create monsters than they will be to create cases like Carrie Buck who was involuntarily sterilized in the 1920 or the character of Dr Julian Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"I'm still your father, Jules, and I will not have you talk to me like that.""No. You used to be my father. Now you're my architect, a man who designed a better son, to replace the defective one he was given. Well, your design has a built-in flaw. It's illegal."-- Doctor Bashir, I Presume (ST:DS9)

If you are unfamiliar with Dr Bashir, he was genetically engineered as a child, and then spent his teenage years and adulthood hiding the fact, because what was done to him was illegal. His story poses the moral and ethical questions of whether he can remain a Starfleet officer because of this.

We also see Dr. Bashir working with adults whose childhood manipulations were not successful, in one case using surgery to help a young woman who was mute and withdrawn from her engineering--because not all changes would be successful, and there would be individuals who suffered negative consequences as a result.

First gene-edited babies may be at risk of early death

The reason I bring up the science fiction examples is that these procedures are complicated, and it's extremely difficult to contemplate ethics when you don't understand the basics of the science. When presented with these ethical dilemmas in story form, we can consider the possible results without having to fully understand the science underpinning these changes.

These changes are coming. There is no way to put the genie back in the bottle. Which is why I believe it's so important to contemplate the ethical issues that have arisen in the past and will arise in the future from genetic engineering.

Because there are, of course, no easy answers.

Genetic engineering could have tremendous benefits, with the possibility of wiping out deadly inherited diseases and cancers. It could also create monsters or widen the gap between the rich and the poor beyond recovery.

What we decide as yet unknown. The only known is that these changes are coming, like it or not, and we are better off facing them prepared with as much knowledge and thought as we can manage.

MORE:

Make Me Smart: CRISPR for Beginners Live Science: What Is CRISPR?Why Treat Gene Editing Differently In Two Types Of Human Cells?Somatic Cell Genome EditingFirst gene-edited babies may be at risk of early deathStar Trek: Deep Space Nine - "Doctor Bashir, I Presume", "Statistical Probabilities", "Chrysalis"19 Best Genetic Engineering Science Fiction BooksBest Movies and TV Shows Featuring CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

~Michelle

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