Should We Alter the Human Genome?

Theologian Michael Burdett discusses the impact that technology has had on us and how we might think about new developments on the horizon.

Transcription:

“Should we change ourselves? I think in one sense if you look at something like medical ethics, the kinds of things that Christians can get on board with are therapeutic uses of these kinds of technologies, so relieving suffering. Francis Collins was talking last night about the real possibility of being able to provide genetic treatments for cystic fibrosis. So we have these genetic diseases, a number of them (Huntington’s chorea being another) that are monogenetic. A change in one certain part of the genome means that that persons life will be completely transformed. But there’s a whole host of social implications once we kind of say, ‘Well if we can do that, could we select for hair color? What if I want my son to be in the top percentile for height? I want him to be a bit smarter?’ And then you have all kinds of social impacts of who’s having access to these kinds of techniques and applications. You can imagine it would probably be the richest. Right now if you want to have the best medical treatment you’re going to have the most expensive insurance. So you can imagine that something very similar will be transferred here. Will this kind of lead to increased stratification that we already have but it will be at even more of a genetic level? The kind of ‘rich get richer,’ and it’s not just that they get rich, but they get rich on a more fundamental level? So there’s all kinds of, I think, thorny, hairy issues that come along with that.”