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Heritable Editing Is Ethically Different From Somatic Therapies
- Reproductive (heritable) gene editing raises distinct safety and social risks compared with somatic therapies.
- Marcy Darnovsky emphasizes embryo selection and donor gametes already allow unaffected genetically related children without altering descendants' DNA.
Preventing Inherited Disease Is a Primary Rationale
- Gene editing can prevent many congenital diseases by correcting 'bugs' in the genome before birth.
- Amy Webb lists conditions like Tay-Sachs and cystic fibrosis as preventable targets motivating moral obligation to intervene.
Gene Editing As Resilience To Biological Threats
- Gene editing could increase human resilience to pathogens and future threats, offering adaptive optionality.
- Amy Webb cites HIV, MERS and other viral threats as examples where edits might confer resistance.