Splicing life : a report on the social and ethical issues of genetic engineering with human beings / President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research.

  • President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research
Date:
1982
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Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Splicing life : a report on the social and ethical issues of genetic engineering with human beings / President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Clarifying the Issues 19 The Commission also recognizes that some of the concerns are about future issues that might or might not occur. As discussed in Chapter Two, developments in this field have been sv^ift. Nevertheless, predicting precisely how this technol¬ ogy will develop and how many of its potential applications will be realized is impossible. Direct human applications of gene splicing have only recently begun. Significant technical barriers still impede many potential applications of the tech¬ nology; sometimes even making progress reveals new hurdles. Although much remains to be learned in this field, knowledge is being acquired rapidly: in most areas of research, new means something that has been found within the past five years; in molecular biology, it often means something found within the past few months. Time and time again in the past ten years, the speed with which events have unfolded has taken well-informed observers by surprise, as noted in a major medical journal: While physicians won't be performing gene therapy on humans for some time, that time appears to be ap¬ proaching more rapidly every day. The tempo of applica¬ tions of new, basic technologies to clinical medicine continues to be astonishing.^® Indeed, prognostications thus far have frequently underesti¬ mated the pace of new knowledge. The most predictable aspect of this technology may be its very unpredictability. The Commission shares the view of the religious leaders, scientists, and others in the media, govern¬ ment, and elsewhere: a continuing exploration is needed of the implications of this technology that has already reshaped the direction of scientific research and that could revolutionize many aspects of life in the modern world. No attempt is made in this Report to resolve the myriad social and ethical issues generated by the ability to manipulate the basic material of living things. The Commission found that in many instances the issues had not been clearly and usefully articulated yet. A goal of this Report, therefore, is to stimulate thoughtful, long-term discussion—not preempt it with conclu¬ sions that would, of necessity, be premature. At this stage in the public discussion, the Commission believes there are at least four broad prerequisites to the development of effective public policy2^: [1) educating the public about genetics and about the historical context of genetic manipulations; (2) 28 Lawrence D. Grouse, Restriction Enzymes, Interferon, and the Therapy for Advanced Cancer, 247 J.A.M.A. 1742 [1982]. ^ The Commission uses the term public policy broadly to include not only formal laws and regulations but the many programs and policies of individuals and institutions that society decides are acceptable and not in need of direct collective intervention. Public policy is not limited to situations where the government has taken
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