The Ethics of Inheritable Genetic Modification A Dividing Line?

Is inheritable genetic modification the new dividing line in gene therapy? The editors of this searching investigation, representing clinical medicine, public health and biomedical ethics, have established a distinguished team of scientists and scholars to address the issues from the perspectives of biological and social science, law and ethics, including an intriguing Foreword from Peter Singer. Their purpose is to consider how society might deal with the ethical concerns raised by inheritable genetic modification, and to re-examine prevailing views about whether these procedures will ever be ethically and socially justifiable. The book also provides background to define the field, and discusses the biological and technological potential for inheritable genetic modification, its limitations, and its connection with gene therapy, cloning, and other reproductive interventions. For scientists, bioethicists, clinicians, counsellors and public commentators, this is an essential contribution to one of the critical debates in current genetics.

Forward: shopping at the genetic supermarket Peter Singer; 1. Is Inheritable genetic modification the new dividing line? John E. J. Rasko, Gabrielle M. O'Sullivan and Rachel A. Ankeny; 2. The science of inheritable genetic modification John E. J. Rasko and Douglas J. Jolly; 3. Nuclear cloning, embryonic stem cells, and gene transfer Rudolf Jaenisch; 4. Controlling bodies and creating monsters: popular perceptions of genetic modifications Christoph Rehmann-Sutter; 5. Inheritable genetic modification as moral responsibility in a creative universe Denis Kenny; 6. Ethics and welfare issues in animal genetic modification Gabrielle M. O'Sullivan; 7. Radical rupture: exploring biological sequelae of volitional inheritable genetic modification Françoise Baylis and Jason Scott Robert; 8. Altering the human species? Misplaced essentialism in science policy Eric T. Juengst; 9. Traditional and feminist bioethical perspectives on gene transfer: is inheritable genetic modification really the problem? Rosemarie Tong; 10. Inheritable genetic modification and disability: normality and identity Jackie Leach Scully; 11. Regulating inheritable genetic modification, or policing the fertile scientific imagination? A feminist legal response Isabel Karpin and Roxanne Mykitiuk; 12. Inheritable genetic modification: clinical applications and genetic counseling considerations Joan A. Scott; 13. Can bioethics speak to politics about the prospect of inheritable genetic modification? If so, what might it say? Roberta M. Berry; Glossary John E. J. Rasko, Gabrielle M. O'Sullivan and Rachel A. Ankeny; Index.

Is inheritable genetic modification the new dividing line in gene therapy? In this searching investigation a distinguished team of scientists and scholars address the issues from the perspectives of biological and social science, law and ethics. This is an essential contribution to one of the critical debates in current genetics.