Should We Edit the Genetic Essence of Life?

The human germline is the genetic essence of human life. It’s the genes passed on from generation to generation that have evolved over billions of years since the advent of life on Earth which have resulted in each of us. We can now alter an embryo’s germline genes and all descendants of that embryo will inherit those alterations. Is that ethical?

The human germline’s been described as “the common heritage of humankind that must be held in trust for future generations.” Until very recently there was widespread agreement that intentional interference with it was unethical and should not be allowed. The UNESCO Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (1997) characterized germline interventions as “practices that could be contrary to human dignity;” the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (Oviedo Convention, 1997) bans interventions on the human genome that could be inherited, that is, on the human germline; the Canadian Assisted Human Reproduction Act 2004 prohibits “alter[ing] the genome of a cell of a human being or in-vitro embryo such that the...