What is a major ethical concern with genome editing in humans?

What is a major ethical concern with genome editing in humans?

• A. It has no ethical concerns.
• B. Germline edits are heritable and could have unforeseen long-term effects; equity and consent concerns.
• C. It only affects animals.
• D. It is not subject to any regulation.

Answer: (B)

Germline edits in humans raise the biggest ethical questions because they are heritable, passing changes to every cell of the person and to future generations. This means any unintended effects, off-target edits, or unforeseen interactions could persist far beyond the individual treated, making long-term outcomes highly uncertain. Since future generations cannot consent to the edits made today, we face fundamental autonomy and rights concerns about altering the genetic setup of people who never had a say. Added to this is the potential for unequal access or the pressure to use edits for enhancement, which could widen social inequities or lead to new forms of discrimination. In short, the enduring, far-reaching impact on future people and the fairness and consent issues make this the major ethical worry. Non-heritable or somatic edits, by contrast, affect only the treated person and do not raise the same multi-generational and equity challenges, and regulatory status does not erase the core ethical questions raised by germline changes.

Germline edits in humans raise the biggest ethical questions because they are heritable, passing changes to every cell of the person and to future generations. This means any unintended effects, off-target edits, or unforeseen interactions could persist far beyond the individual treated, making long-term outcomes highly uncertain. Since future generations cannot consent to the edits made today, we face fundamental autonomy and rights concerns about altering the genetic setup of people who never had a say. Added to this is the potential for unequal access or the pressure to use edits for enhancement, which could widen social inequities or lead to new forms of discrimination. In short, the enduring, far-reaching impact on future people and the fairness and consent issues make this the major ethical worry. Non-heritable or somatic edits, by contrast, affect only the treated person and do not raise the same multi-generational and equity challenges, and regulatory status does not erase the core ethical questions raised by germline changes.