ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on genome editing applied to humans, and in particular on germline interventions. Genetic engineering for intervening into organisms by introducing new genetic material has been developed since the early 1970s. Genome editing, also named genome engineering or gene editing, is the most recent variant of genetic engineering. It is used to insert, delete, replace, or modify deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the genome of the target organism. Its challenge is to make the desired alteration precisely at the correct position in the DNA and to avoid unintended changes. The main ethical issue related to risks of genome editing is concern about the health and welfare of the children. Concerns of unfair and unequal access to genome editing technologies, of a possibly emerging pressure on parents to use genome editing to prevent monogenetic diseases, or of future competition with respect to creating the best-enhanced designer babies all follow the structure of slippery-slope arguments.
