Article Text
Abstract
In this reply, we wish to defend our original position and address several of the points raised by two excellent responses. The first response (De Miguel Beriain) questions the relevance of the notion of ‘serious’ within the context of human germline genome modification (HGGM). We argue that the ‘serious’ factor is relevant and that there is a need for medical and social lenses to delineate the limits of acceptability and initial permissible applications of HGGM. In this way, ‘serious’ acts as a starting point for further discussions and debates on the acceptability of the potential clinical translation of HGGM. Therefore, there is a pressing need to clarify its scope, from a regulatory perspective, so as to prevent individuals from using HGGM for non-therapeutic or enhancement purposes. The second response (Kalsi) criticizes the narrow interpretation of the objectivist approach and the apparent bias towards material innovations when discussing the right to benefit from scientific advancements. As an in-depth discussion of the objectivist and constructivist approaches was beyond the scope of our original paper, we chose to focus on one specific objectivist account, one which focuses on biological and scientific facts. We agree, however, with the critique that material innovations should not be the sole focus of the right to benefit from scientific advancements, which also incorporates freedom of scientific research and access to scientific knowledge scientific freedom and knowledge, including the influence of these on ethical thinking and cultures.
- genetic engineering
- enhancement
- ethics
- gene therapy/transfer
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Footnotes
Contributors All authors contributed equally to this response.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Request Permissions
If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.
Copyright information:
Linked Articles
Read the full text or download the PDF:
Other content recommended for you
- The ‘ serious ’ factor in germline modification
- Is it ethical to provide IVF add - ons when there is no evidence of a benefit if the patient requests it
- Clinical applications of preimplantation genetic testing
- Emotional distress in infertile women and failure of assisted reproductive technologies: meta-analysis of prospective psychosocial studies
- Assisted reproductive technologies do not enhance the variability of DNA methylation imprints in human
- Decreased chance of a live born child in women with rheumatoid arthritis after assisted reproduction treatment: a nationwide cohort study
- The epigenetic imprinting defect of patients with Beckwith — Wiedemann syndrome born after assisted reproductive technology is not restricted to the 11p15 region
- Assessing cardiovascular remodelling in fetuses and infants conceived by assisted reproductive technologies: a prospective observational cohort study protocol
- Maternal history of miscarriages and measures of fertility in relation to childhood asthma
- Preparation of the endometrium and timing of blastocyst transfer in modified natural cycle frozen - thawed embryo transfers (mNC - FET): a study protocol for a randomised controlled multicentre trial