Unintended Effects

In a statement to Catholic News Agency earlier this week, Rev.Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D., director of education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center, expressed moral objection to germline genome editing on embryos: Their value as human beings is profoundly denigrated every time they are created, experimented upon, and then killed. Moreover, if such embryos were to grow up, as will doubtless occur in the future, there are likely to be unintended effects from modifying their genes.

The 11 organizations acknowledged numerous ethical issues arising from human germline genome editing, including:

At a minimum, the potential for harm to individuals and families, ramifications on which we can only speculate, provide a strong argument for prudence and further research, the policy statement asserted. By proceeding with caution, we can ensure better understanding of the potential risks and benefits of gene editing from a scientific perspective and, as such, provide families with a more fulsome exercise of their autonomous decision making through the consent process.

The statement added: We encourage ethical and social consideration in tandem with basic science research in the upcoming years.

Last October, You Lu, M.D., and colleagues at Sichuan Universitys West China Hospital in Chengdu launched the first known clinical trial using CRISPR to treat patientsspecifically, knocking out a gene encoding the programmed death protein 1 (PD-1) in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Groups joining ASHG in issuing the policy statement included the Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors, the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors, the International Genetic Epidemiology Society, and the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

Additional groups authoring the policy statement were the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Asia Pacific Society of Human Genetics, the British Society for Genetic Medicine, the Human Genetics Society of Australasia, the Professional Society of Genetic Counselors in Asia, and the Southern African Society for Human Genetics.

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11 Organizations Urge Caution, Not Ban, on CRISPR Germline Genome Editing - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (press release)