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Abstract
With the emergence of clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) as one of the most promising new gene-editing techniques, scientists are now endeavoring to apply it to various domains. Among all the possible applications, gene editing in human embryos has received the most attention. Against this background, this article carries out a philosophical study on the ethical problems of human embryo gene editing or designing. Arguments against human embryo gene designing include that parents should be prohibited from deciding their children’s future; commodifying children should be prohibited; the natural reproductive process should not be disturbed; and human embryo gene designing might foster discrimination. Arguments for human embryo gene designing include that parents should have the freedom to design their own babies and this freedom should not be limited; designing babies can promote the happy life of the baby; and totally forbidding embryo gene editing would drive the practice underground, where it would be performed illegally. This article analyzes all of these arguments and points out that all of them have some flaws. In order to draw a thoughtful conclusion, we turn to Confucianism and find a new perspective to determine whether designing babies with CRISPR technology is ethically permissible.
Highlights
Clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is a biological system for altering DNA
A rough sketch of how CRISPR technology works goes as follows: CRISPR is a DNA sequence family that widely exists among genomes of bacteria and archaea
Therein, we suggest that, on the one hand, Confucianism answers questions left unanswered by current famous Western philosophers such as Sandel; on the other hand, Confucianism holds a more context-sensitive attitude towards embryo gene designing (EGD)
Summary
Regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is a biological system for altering DNA. A rough sketch of how CRISPR technology works goes as follows: CRISPR is a DNA sequence family that widely exists among genomes of bacteria and archaea Each member of this family is composed of one leader, several short and conservative repeats, and several spacers. There is the worry that CRISPR technology might fall into the hands of terrorists who would use it to create into deadly weapons All of these worries over safety issues and the discussions around them are very reasonable and beneficial but, in this paper, we take a step further and focus on the following question: If the safety issues can be resolved, is it ethically permissible to apply this technology to embryo gene designing (EGD)?. Therein, we suggest that, on the one hand, Confucianism answers questions left unanswered by current famous Western philosophers such as Sandel; on the other hand, Confucianism holds a more context-sensitive attitude towards EGD
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