Do you think we should allow genetic modification of the germline in the US? Consider if you, your child, or a family member carried a devastating genetic disease that could potentially be eliminated using CRISPR, does this change your answer? Should we be concerned with the possibility of building a eugenic society (think Gattaca)? What about designer babies? Should parents be allowed to select the sex of their baby? How about selecting specific genetic traits like eye color?

This is a discussion post. I will provide a document that has two articles (2015 was the year it became ok to
genetically engineer babies & The pros and cons of genetically engineering your children). Here is also a
youtube link about Genome Editiing with CRISPR-Cas9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pp17E4E-O8

The questions that need to be answered are:

Do you think we should allow genetic modification of the germline in the US? Consider if you, your child, or a family member carried a devastating genetic disease that could potentially be eliminated using CRISPR, does this change your answer? Should we be concerned with the possibility of building a eugenic society (think Gattaca)? What about designer babies? Should parents be allowed to select the sex of their baby? How about selecting specific genetic traits like eye color?

Also here is more information about CRISPR:

The relatively new CRISPR technique allows scientists to cut out a detrimental gene and insert healthy DNA, thereby altering the genetic code of that individual cell. If this mutation occurs in a germ cell (gametes, sperm or egg), it would carry through to every cell in the body and descend in successive generations. The CRISPR technique has the potential to eliminate devastating genetic diseases such as Tay-Sachs, cystic fibrosis or Huntington’s disease, however, many in the scientific community oppose human germline modification on the basis of ethical consequences. Regardless of these concerns, it has already begun. China is leading in this research, where scientists began experimentation on a nonviable human embryo in 2015. In 2018 a Chinese scientist performed gene editing on human embryos to knock out the CCR5 gene, preventing entry of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), creating the first germ-line mutation in a human being. It is reported that China has experimented on over 86 patients thus far, with 15 deaths (no viable sources to back this claim). The United States has not officially prohibited germline modification, although the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee explicitly states that it “will not at present entertain proposals for germ line alterations”.

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