Explain three ethical issues with gene therapy and identify how people are approaching these issues.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

While gene therapy, altering genes to treat disease, has had some successes, there are a number of ethical concerns. First, gene therapies can have disastrous side effects, as was the case when Jesse Gelsinger died from complications following a gene therapy intervention. These side effects can occur due to immune system reactions to the viruses that are used to introduce new genes into the body. Second, there are concerns regarding the ways that a person's genetic information could be used and who could access it. For example, someone might be denied insurance coverage or employment because of the genes they had that were linked to a disease or poor capabilities. Third, there are concerns that gene therapies would only be available to people who could afford them, and thus the therapies could contribute to widening of existing socioeconomic gaps in achievement or longevity. Fourth, gene therapies impacting reproductive cells could be passed on to future generations who would have to live through the consequences of alterations to their genes without being able to consent to the changes. To address some of the privacy issues, governments in the United States and Europe have passed laws prohibiting gene testing without a person's consent and/or limiting who can access information about a person's genes. Due to concerns about passing on gene changes, the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine and some groups within the United States government are asking scientists to avoid making gene changes to reproductive cells at this time.