Ethics of Genome Editing

The advent of new genome editing technologies such as CRISPR/CasX has opened new dimensions of what and how genetic interventions into our world are possible. The EGE addresses the profound ethical questions raised and revived by them, and analyses various domains of application, from human health to animal experimentation, from livestock breeding to crop variety and to gene drives.

With its wide view across areas, it identifies underlying and overarching issues that deserve our concerted attention, among them, the different meanings that ought to be attributed to humanness, naturalness or diversity. This enables conclusions that provide panoramic perspectives complementing narrower, area-specific analyses. In the same vein, the Opinion is concerned with the global dimension of genome editing and its regulation and formulates recommendations with a particular focus on the international level.

In its Opinion, the EGE provides recommendations on overarching matters and concerns in the issue of genome editing, as well as on genome editing in humans, animals, plants, and gene drives.

Delivered on
19 March 2021

Origin
Requested by the European Commission

Core advice

The European Group on Ethics gave advice in the form of an Opinion, including policy recommendations. More about how we develop our advice >

Supporting work

To support the Group in its work, the EGE secretariat provided an analysis of the policy landscape. More about our knowledge-gathering >

News and events

News 19 March 2021

Genome editing: Commission’s Ethics Group calls for wide-ranging societal debate and global governance

The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), an independent advisory body to the Commission, has today published its Opinion on the ethics of genome editing. The Opinion analyses ethical questions raised by the application of genome editing in humans, animals and plants, and hence spans health, research, agriculture and environmental aspects.