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38A - Genome Editing Should Be Allowed for the Prevention of Life-Threatening Genetic Diseases

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from Section VII - Genetics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2021

Roy Homburg
Affiliation:
Homerton University Hospital, London
Adam H. Balen
Affiliation:
Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine
Robert F. Casper
Affiliation:
Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto
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Summary

While far-future dystopian outcomes are frequently posited by opponents of genome editing, these scenarios are of little relevance to practical reproductive medicine. The more interesting question is this: Should we go ahead with genome editing now? I shall argue that the answer is yes, we ought to proceed without undue delay. With current technology (most notably CRISPR), genome editing has the potential to prevent life-threatening genetic diseases. The main arguments commonly raised against going ahead are threefold: 1. Current technology should be used instead of genome editing 2. Genome editing technology is presently too dangerous 3. Allowing genome editing will lead to misuse of the technology. In my view these objections do not amount to strong grounds against genome editing. I shall consider each in turn.

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Chapter
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Ranisch, R. Germline genome editing versus preimplantation genetic diagnosis: is there a case in favour of germline interventions? Bioethics. 2020;34(1):60–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, K, Ryu, J, Uh, K, et al. Frequency of off-targeting in genome edited pigs produced via direct injection of the CRISPR/Cas9 system into developing embryos. BMC Biotechnol. 2019;19:24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doman, J, Raguram, A, Newby, GA, Liu, DR. Evaluation and minimization of Cas9-independent off-target DNA editing by cytosine base editors. Nature Biotechnol. 2020;38(5):620–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davies, B. The technical risks of human gene editing. Hum Reprod. 2019;34(11):2104–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, K. Time to start intervening in the human germline? A utilitarian perspective. Bioethics. 2020 34(1):90104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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