It is a debate which is based on academic ethics because genetic editing can both harm and advantage the future generations. The research for genetic modification and editing is nothing new, but still, it is as surprising as ever.
The claims of Chinese researcher He Jiankui are that he has been successful in making world’s first genetically edited babies, who are two twin girls born only this month.
While China is holding such researches and has even experimented them on humans, the US does not allow genetic editing as a legal research and experiment. According to a US scientist who was the part of the research in China, scientists in the US believe that this kind of “human intervention” with genes can be harmful to future generations to which the genes may be passed on.
Consequently, many scientists have denied the reports and research of the Chinese scientist He of Shenzhen.
On the contrary, He thinks very differently about the science of editing genes. According to him, he has set an example which is one of its kind. He has just experimented. Whether to take it further or not is still in hands of the world and other scientists.
Dr. Kiran Musunuru from the University of Pennsylvania, on the other hand, holds that such an experiment on human beings is not “ethically defensible”. (Source: Bloomberg)
He Jiankui did the experimentation to make the genes acquire a resistance to HIV, which causes AIDS. Thinking on these lines, a well-known geneticist from Harvard University, Dr. George Church, applauds He’s attempts for doing something against HIV, which according to him is “a major and growing public health threat”. (Source: Bloomberg)
So having put forth the arguments from both the sides, I would say that it’s hard to say if genetic editing is morally and ethically correct or not. Or it should be legalized or not. Even the big and famous scientists and geneticists are confused and hold different opinions.
I would say that if the experimentations are to be made, they should be made with the utmost precaution. To give a very normal example, we all know what happens in Amazing Spiderman, when humans try to change genes of humans (yes, there is a lot to be learned from the Marvel movies).
