Harvard bioethicist responds to edit of disease gene in embryo
The announcement by Oregon Health & Science University that scientists there had edited the genes of human embryos to remove the cause of a deadly disease has raised the prospect of a powerful new tool for physicians — as well as fears of a Pandora’s Box that could lead to “designer babies” and humans engineered for desirable traits such as strength or intelligence. Robert Truog is the Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Medical Ethics, Anaesthesiology, and Pediatrics, and the director of Harvard Medical School’s Center for Bioethics. In a Gazette Q&A he shared his thoughts on the debate the breakthrough set off. GAZETTE: Researchers said they cured a relatively common and potentially deadly genetic disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Why is this not uniformly good news? What’s the big fear? TRUOG: Many people believe that there’s something sacred about the human genome and messing with it feels like playing God. In their view,...