Canada's Prohibition on Altering the Human Genome
By Françoise Baylis and Alana Cattapan,
Impact Ethics
| 10. 02. 0017
With the development of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome editing, scientists can more safely and more easily insert, delete, or replace DNA. Should this new genome editing tool be used to make changes that will be passed on to future generations?
In Canada, the law currently prohibits altering “the genome of a cell of a human being or in vitro embryo such that the alteration is capable of being transmitted to descendants.” Some people advocate removing this prohibition.
This past summer, Health Canada invited Canadians to comment on its plans to introduce regulations in support of the 2004 Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) Act. A discussion paper titled Toward a Strengthened Assisted Human Reproduction Act: A Consultation with Canadians on Key Policy Proposals was published. In the discussion paper, Health Canada indicated that amending the prohibition on altering the human genome was beyond the scope of the regulations currently being developed, but that this issue might be addressed at some future time.
In light of this comment by Health Canada suggesting that the legal prohibition on altering the genome of human gametes...
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