On the Ethical Issues of Gene-enhancement in Different Stages of Human Development

Abstract

The ethics of human enhancement technology are highly controversial. The purpose of this paper is to provide an ethical justification for the genetic enhancement technology and then extend it to the ethical feasibility of other human enhancement technologies. According to the customs of most countries in the world, the age of 18 is generally regarded as the threshold of adulthood. Non-adults under 18 can be divided into the embryonic period from the fertilized egg to the eighth week and the growing period from the ninth week to the age of 18. Genetic enhancement in embryonic period has been criticized by a series of ethical charges with "germline change" as the core. Although genetic enhancement in the growing period avoids the critical opinion of "germline change", it is still criticized by a series of ethical charges with "human-nature change" as the core. Genetic enhancement in the adulthood will successfully avoid the two fatal charges of “germline change” and “human-nature change”, while responding well to other ethical charges. The conclusion of this paper is that adult gene enhancement is ethically feasible, and further application of other adult human enhancement techniques is also ethically feasible.