Genetic Intervention on Human Subjects 

What is gene therapy and how is it carried out? Does it raise any moral problems? What kind of moral position should we take with regard to non-therapeutic genetic interventions? This Report of an interdisciplinary Working Party provides answers to these and other questions often asked about genetic interventions on human beings.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Gene therapy: scientific and clinical aspects
3. Moral considerations: human beings and their fulfilment
4. The purpose of medicine
5. Genetic health and genetic responsibility
6. Genetic interventions: somatic therapy
7. Genetic interventions: germ-line therapy
8. Non-therapeutic genetic interventions
9. Conclusion: permissible forms of genetic intervention

Appendix A: Legal Issues (Mr John Duddington)

Appendix B: Extracts from Vatican Documents

Glossary, Bibliography, Notes

Reviews

"[This book] addresses some of the vexing questions which genetics and particularly genetic intervention on human subjects raises. Somatic line therapy is viewed in the same light as current therapies and a cautious approval is given. However, serious doubts about the morality of germ-line and non-therapeutic interventions are voiced. This is due to the evident necessity of experimentation on embryos to perfect the therapy and make it viable. For a short publication on an increasingly important area of moral deliberation I found this publication informative and helpful."

- David Smith 

The Furrow November 1997 

"...the authors have made a commendable attempt to address a complex area of medical science. The Catholic antecedents of their conclusions are presented fairly and do not detract from the hard thinking which underlies the report. It can be recommended as a serious contribution to the debate about gene therapy in particular, as well as the more general issues society will face as the Human Genome Project gathers momentum."

- Geoff Turnock

Priest and People November 1997

"[This book] will be of immense interest to all ethicists, regardless of whether or not they are involved in human genetic intervention, or are Roman Catholic....

The Report's conclusion very much reinforces the moral need to value human life, whether a born or unborn individual has a genetic disorder, and regardless of state law... Whether it is considered poignant or provocative, the Report is definitely worth closer study, and is sufficiently broad in its coverage of concepts, as well as of current interventions, to have a reasonably long shelf life."

- Sarah James  

Nursing Ethics 1997 4(5)

"Opening with a clear exposition of the relevant science, this book offers a concise and thought provoking glimpse of many of the moral issues surrounding our manipulation of the human genome."

- Susan Bull

Bulletin of Medical Ethics February 1997 

"I would strongly recommend this book to a wide audience interested in this new and developing topic. Throughout, the examples used to illustrate points are realistic. Doctors will find the clear exposition of ethical principles most useful, and a lay audience will find no difficulty in understanding the scientific principles involved."

- Dr Michael Jarmulowicz

Catholic Medical Quarterly February 1997

"This little book is exceedingly useful. If only all working parties did their work as well and as presentably. Dr Helen Watt of the Linacre Centre, who served as secretary, is to be congratulated.

For here we have a primer on the new genetic technology and its therapeutic possibilities, laying out in a series of short chapters the major areas where choices now or soon will need to be made: somatic therapy, germline therapy, non-therapeutic interventions, together with the basic issue underlying all such things - which is far too little addressed - the purpose of medicine. A glossary opens up the discussion to non-specialists; indeed, it is worth the boom price in itself to anyone who floats on the edge of these discussions and wants to be able to understand more of what they mean."

- Nigel M. de S. Cameron

Light and Salt June 1997

"This is a thought provoking and timely book and although not all would agree with its contents, the working party's report should be welcomed as a significant contribution to the ongoing moral debate surrounding human genetic engineering in the late twentieth century."

- Dr Simon Coates 

European Journal of Genetics and Society 1997 Vol 3 No2 

"... the report is notable for its clarity of thought, systematic analysis and lucid expression. It presents an intriguing, often alarming, issue to the uninitiated without over-simplification or condescension.

....the strength of this report... is that it is broad, but profound."

- Fr George Woodall 

Faith Magazine May-June 1997.

"This short book ... will be an excellent starting point for anyone with a serious interest in thinking through the ethics of human genetic engineering..... It sets out a clear framework of ideas within which specific proposals and particular issues may be considered. As someone who is often asked to provide just such a framework for the discussion of problems in the ethics of health care, I predict that the one set out here will help people to work out reasoned answers to really practical questions.

Most discussions of the ethics of genetic interventions on human beings focus on the likely risks (or safety) of such procedures and thus on the necessity for the prospective patient to be provided with sound information about any proposed form of genetic modification, and thus on the difficulties in stating clearly what constitutes the giving of informed consent to any proposed genetic modification.

This book cuts much deeper. The authors recognise that germ-line therapy may not be found to be worth pursuing in a society in which it is thought appropriate to eliminate disease by eliminating affected individuals. They recognise that, because it is simpler and easier, embryo selection is more likely to become common practice than is therapy on embryos or gametes. None the less they provide a principled way of evaluating the whole range of genetic interventions on human beings regardless of whether they will ever become reality."

- Dr Bernadette Tobin

Bioethics Outlook, Vol 8 No1 March 1997

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