Biohackers Want to Make Gene Editing a Human Right

Remember Dolly – the first cloned mammal that was created in Scotland in 1996? That created an uproar worldwide about cloning any living thing.  Today, expert panels have been trying to set guidelines to ensure that scientists don’t start creating superhumans using Crispr, a gene-editing device.  I wrote about Crispr and how difficult it will be to keep unethical people from misusing this genome-editing technique that is available in university and science labs around the globe.

Biohackers claim that people should have access to technology that can cure diseases, which most people probably agree with.  But, how do we stop this same technology from increasing people’s IQs or changing their physical attributes? Gene-editing technology is available online and many entrepreneurs are claiming that it is a human right.  Their argument: genetic choice is a human right.

There is no simple solution to this ethics debate but there is a need for universal policies to be set to prevent misuse of this technology, and it needs to be done now.  Chinese scientists now lead the way with gene-editing technology and claim that they have already modified human genes in their labs. It’s time to settle this debate and set some guidelines to protect mankind.

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