Gene editing ethics

Ethical considerations primarily focus on the effects on future generations. Relating to gene editing concerning athletes, a current controversy regards whether we should be allowed to use these methods to enhance our own abilities. The use of genome editing in somatic cells raises some concerns due to the array of unpredictable outcomes that accompany gene editing (Krishan et al. 2015). Many are in favor of genome editing when it concerns the elimination of certain diseases. Yet, many are against the idea of altering the DNA of embryos, citing it as crossing an ethical line. This is due to the possibility of newly created diseases developing due to DNA insertion from CRISPR-Cas9 in locations other than the target site (Cyranoski 2015).