Can Medical Manipulation be used for good and bad?

Gene editing, raises a host of ethical considerations and concerns. Here are some of the key ethical considerations regarding gene editing:

Now in a best case scenario, we use something like CRISPR to reduce our chances to catching diseases, cancer, etc. We edit out genes that can cause us to gain unhealthy weight, and the world gets a better citizen who can live not only longer, but also better.

Now let’s look at a worst case scenario. It is said that authoritarian regimes last longer than democratically elected governments. So they could be looking at a larger, 15-25 year process. In which case they might invest in their “future” army where you have soldiers which are stronger, more resilient (heal and recover faster), etc. How much faster? Would it matter?

In some sports, it might be the difference between a pro/Olympic performance, and a strong high school competitor or D III college player. Sometimes you will hear about the difference in pro-teams being only a percentage point difference. https://www.quora.com/How-much-is-a-one-second-difference-in-a-100m-race-Could-you-put-it-into-some-perspective

So someone could create a stronger military, and thus control, by pure power, his or her country, as well as their neighbors with relative ease. Or, you could have someone “create” an Olympic athlete. We see athletes using steroids to get an advantage, and pushing their kids into their sport, what’s to say they wouldn’t want to give their kids and advantage. But what if the change resulted in an unexpected change that made them more prone to rage? Or some other attribute that might be detrimental to society?

Here’s an interesting thought exercise. What would a 1% improvement be like, overall, be like if we looked at our overall DNA.

Here are some things to consider?

1. Unintended Consequences: One of the most significant ethical concerns is the potential for unintended consequences. Editing one gene may have unforeseen effects on other genes or biological processes, leading to unintended and harmful outcomes.
2. Germline Editing: Editing genes in germline cells (sperm and egg cells) can lead to heritable changes, affecting future generations. This raises questions about consent, the long-term consequences, and the potential for designer babies.
3. Equity and Access: Gene editing technologies could exacerbate existing social and economic inequalities if they are only accessible to the wealthy. Imagine the idea of designer babies and those parents being able to create a child specifically to their liking. At a best case scenario, the child is disease free, at a worse case scenario, you are creating a “master race” of the type you desire.
4. Informed Consent: Ethical gene editing requires informed consent from individuals whose genes are being edited. But what constitutes informed consent in this context, especially when it comes to editing genes in embryos or those unable to provide consent (e.g., infants)? This also partially gets into the “I never asked to be born” argument. But it’s slightly different when you are the direct offspring of your parents, compared to something designed. What if the parents wanted an “athlete” but the kid never wanted to play sports.
5. Human Enhancement: The ability to edit genes for non-medical purposes, such as enhancing physical or cognitive traits, raises ethical questions about the definition of “normal” and whether we should be altering human biology in this way.
6. Consent of Future Generations: When germline editing affects future generations who cannot provide consent, ethical questions arise about the rights and autonomy of these individuals.
7. Cross-Species Editing: The ability to edit genes across species boundaries raises questions about the ethics of creating hybrid organisms and the potential for unintended ecological disruptions. Look to the TV series, Dark Angel for a sci-fi twist on this. While always thought to be just a sci-fi theme, the question is, could something like CRISPR make it a reality.

Brain Implants

While brain implants being used to control someone is the basis of many a science fiction story, at this time, there is no known way to be able to do this. Which also means, that eliminating or adding content to the brain doesn’t seem likely at this point.

I mean, sure, it might be nice to have the memory of a bad break up “seared” from your brain, but what if they miss? And what if that bad relationship also taught you something important? Would that be lost?

At the same time, being able to download four years of medical school isn’t likely either at this time. While it would make life a lot easier to simply download your knowledge, it also created some changed. For example, have you ever read a mistake in an textbook? Could you imagine having a whole group of people with a mistake, which may not be able to download a fix.

Would there be a risk of the system being hijacked? Think of the fact that no computer is truly safe from hacking, and the bigger the target, the more people would go after it.

Maybe it wouldn’t have to even hacked. Just “snuck” in. Could a government “download” compliance, and simply call it 3rd grade? What about social and religious beliefs? Could a corporation skip spending millions on advertising, and download the “Fact” that your favorite beverage is “Smelly’s”?

Prosthetics

Current prosthetics are not as functional. However, with improvements in materials such as carbon fiber, smaller batteries, stronger motors, etc are getting prosthetics lighter and stronger. This means that in the near future, things like running blades may be more common. Blades are an example of something which some say give runners an advantage as they have a springiness about them, and are both longer and lighter than lower legs, however, some claim there is no advantage. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/sports/olympics/Leeper.html and https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/10/28/court-ruling-barring-blade-runner-olympics-scientifically-unfounded-studies-suggest (Note: This athlete is from Kingsport, TN – only about an hour from campus.)

So could someone risk an amputation to be more competitive? What ethical considerations would doctors and engineers face?

Can Medical Manipulation be used for good and bad? was originally found on Access 2 Learn