Gene Editing: Promise & Peril–Is Caution Enough? This Lutheran bioethics scholar comments on CRISPR: What is deemed necessary is the use of countless embryos—always, of course, with caution and with relief of suffering as the ultimate end in view. [And] there remains one further possibility on the gene-editing horizon. Beyond basic research, there is the possibility of “enhancing” our traits and capacities. This is a notoriously difficult concept to define. We all understand in general that the idea has something to do with improving a trait beyond its typical level, moving beyond what is simply therapeutic, but it can be hard to be more precise than that–a treatment designed to maintain muscle mass in the elderly may also help to improve the capacities of wrestlers.
