An argument against germline editing on the grounds that morally justified parental consent for such interventions is not possible

Abstract

In 2017, Dr He Jiankui edited the germline of embryos to make them resistant to HIV. The embryos were carried to full term and born. The parents were not held liable but a Chinese court fined Dr. He 3 million Chinese yuan and sentenced him to 3 years in prison for illegal medical practice. It has been established that parents who want to prevent their offspring from inheriting genetic conditions which they carry the genes for can easily find scientists who are keen to edit their future children’s germline illegally and not be held liable. In this research I argue that it is not morally justified for parents to consent to editing the germline of their future children and so parents who do so should be held liable because they are abusing their rights to bodily and psychological integrity by disregarding their future autonomy. This research report will be carried out using normative methodology