- Question
Is CRISPR human genome editing technology ethical?
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) is a new technology that allows scientists to edit human DNA. CRISPR poses many ethical concerns regarding its abilities to permanently alter germlines, eradicate certain genetic conditions, and even enhance certain physical traits.
CRISPR is ethical under certain conditions
This position holds that CRISPR genome editing is ethical only under certain conditions. Its arguments propose limiting it to somatic (non-inheritable) cells, excluding edits to embryos that cannot consent, and confining its use to treating genuine diseases rather than enhancement.
Using CRISPR is unethical
The use of CRISPR raises ethical concerns because it has the potential to amplify racial inequality. There are also issues regarding consent, the possibility of unintended changes to the human genome, and the eradication of genetic conditions based on faulty justifications.
CRISPR is ethical under all conditions
This position holds that CRISPR human genome editing is ethical under all conditions, with no limits warranted. It is the most permissive stance in the debate — that the technology's use should not be ethically restricted at all — and the least argued of the three positions here.