Ethical and Cultural Considerations for Genetic Editing: A Literature Review

Public project summary

Imagine a world where everyone was born “perfect” in other words, lacking in all genetic predispositions to sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, cancers, HIV, etc. This world is becoming more and more possible with the development of genetic editing, specifically because of CRISPR technology, also known as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic responses. Using an enzyme called Cas 9 this technology can cut certain DNA sequences and modify the way the body will function. Initially, this topic does not seem very ethically complex, fixing all genetic mutations on the surface seems to be an inherently positive thing. However, research and studies have shown that it may not be that simple. For example, the premature experiment done by Jian-Kui HE on two female embryos to immunize the babies to HIV (Chen, 2022). This experiment was concerning because there is not enough research to be conducting this kind of medical treatment yet. In order to move towards the safe implementation of CRISPR it is crucial to consider what regulations can be put in place to allow for CRISPR technology to be developed safely and ethically?