European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies opinion on the Ethics of Genome Editing

The advent of new genome editing technologies such as CRISPR/CasX has opened new dimensions of what and how genetic interventions into our world are possible. This Opinion addresses the profound ethical questions raised and revived by them. It analyses various domains of application, from human health to animal experimentation, from livestock breeding to crop variety and to gene drives. With its wide view across areas, it identifies underlying and overarching issues that deserve our concerted attention, among them, the different meanings that ought to be attributed to humanness, naturalness or diversity. This enables conclusions that provide panoramic perspectives complementing narrower, area-specific analyses. In the same vein, the Opinion is concerned with the global dimension of genome editing and its regulation and formulates recommendations with a particular focus on the international level.

Read the opinion on the Ethics of Genome Editing published on 23 March 2021 here