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13 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y 63 (1999)
What Sort of People Do We Want - The Ethics of Changing People through Genetic Engineering

handle is hein.journals/ndlep13 and id is 69 raw text is: WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE DO WE WANT? THE ETHICS OF CHANGING PEOPLE THROUGH GENETIC ENGINEERING MICHAEL J. REISS* Within the last decade, genetic engineering has changed from being a relatively esoteric research technique of molecular biologists to an application of considerable power, yet one which raises widespread public concern. In this article, I first briefly summarize the principles of genetic engineering, as applied to any organism. I then concentrate on humans, reviewing both progress to date and possible future developments. Throughout, my particular focus is on the ethical acceptability or otherwise of the technology. I restrict myself to cases where humans are themselves being genetically engineered. This means, for instance, that I do not cover such topics as xenotransplantation (when animals are genetically engineered to make them suitable for transplantation into humans) and the issues resulting from the production of such products as genetically engineered human growth hor- mone, al-antitrypsin, or vaccines (when micro-organisms, ani- mals, or plants are genetically engineered to produce human proteins). Nor do I cover cloning, which deserves an article all to itself. My three main conclusions are as follows: First, somatic gene therapy (in which genetic alterations are made to the non-repro- ductive cells of an individual for intended medical benefit) is ethically fairly unproblematic and likely to be accepted by the great majority of people. However, its scope is more limited than is often supposed. Second, germ-line therapy (in which genetic alterations are made to the reproductive cells of an individual for intended medical benefit for him/herself and his/her descend- ants) is currently too risky to be allowed. However, this will prob- ably not always be the case. Third, the use of either somatic or germ-line modification to enhance human traits such as person- * Reader in Education and Bioethics, Homerton College, Cambridge CB2 2PH, UK (mjrl000@cam.ac.uk). Member, EuropaBio's Advisory Group on Ethics; Member, United Kingdom Government's Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes.

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