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OftenBen  ·  2980 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Should you edit your children’s genes?

    Answering "You should sometimes use gene editing" is a valid answer to the original question.

Ok that's a fair point, and one that I agree with. I think we also both would agree with the statement 'You should sometimes NOT use gene editing' without further qualifier.

Here's the issue as I see it. There is a population of people, a LARGE population of people that are opposed to ANY AND ALL modifications to the human genome. This same population is also largely ignorant of the realities of genetic drift/flow and natural selection causing genomic change. Those people are unquestionably wrong. You and I both agree that there are cases in which genetic modification is the morally correct thing for a parent to pursue (Tay-Sachs, HTI, things like that) and that there are cases in which it is morally questionable to pursue. (Changing someones sexual orientation, as an example)

Can we have this debate again once we have gotten rid of Tay-Sachs, HTI, and a few other diseases?