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Gene editing on humans is certainly a can of worms, but the ethics there are a bit less direct. Its more about a slipper slope than the effects of any one person making the decision.
It is particularly hairy when your modifying your kid who is too young to consent but will be effected by a lifetime. But at least with gene editing, for the most part it is done in the best interest of the child, with an abortion you cant really make that argument,in fact very much the opposite, sacrificing the child for the good of the parent.
We are no where near ethically mindful enough as a species to engage in gene editing ethically. Sadly we **are** quickly approaching the point where gene editing is necessary for the species to thrive at all. It is a dangerous cross roads to be at for sure.
the tinfoils seem to be concerned about and debating what happens when a company issues a patented gene therapy and that results in RNA/DNA modifications if that person still qualifies as human and what to do about it
otherwise we're pretty much facing ethics lip service while everyone preps designer babies in the basement.
@hans_w @lucifargundam
Agreed this is an issue that no one is really addressing well. People either oppose gene editing all together, or take no issue with the current ethics and application and wheres its heading. I dont see any solutions that actually pave a way forward for ethical gene editing on humans.
Then again we seem to have an ethics breakdown recently in the most general sense that is headed towards a train wreck to. The ethically minded have educed everything to such extremes as to be self destructive meanwhile everyone else is so sick of being called a racist for nonsense that they are in full on "fuck you" mode. In the interim the ethical norm in the world slips farther and farther behind.
Pastoral dome townships will be achieved long before an "improvement" is found with MRNA.
@freemo @hans_w @lucifargundam
It is neccesary due to how genes evolve and work overtime. As medical science is able to treat genetic disease better and give someone a normal lifespan with an otherwise debilitating disease then that disease is no longer selected against very strongly and can proliferate throughout society.
So the end result of modern medical science is, over time, genetic diseases becoming more common until you have a future where everyone is wheelchair bound with cerebral palsy, half blind and only able to see with medical devices and effectively on life support from the first day of their life. This gives a rather concerning quality of life for future humans if we dont ethically implement gene editing before it gets to that point.
i would start with specifying human derived conscious entities are classified as human for the purpose of law, then ban patenting of humanoids.
then maybe we can talk.