Genetically Edited Children and the Risks to Equality: Examining Heritable Genome Editing in the Light of Social Justice

Advances in heritable genome editing, such as with CRISPR-Cas9, promise to ensure that some possible future children with genetic disorders are not created ― but at what cost to equality? If only certain kinds of people are brought into existence, do we risk undermining the very foundations of social justice?

This groundbreaking volume brings together leading philosophical, ethical, and legal scholars to explore the implications of selecting future children.

Examining this urgent issue through the lens of equality, it challenges us to consider whether genetic selection of children aligns with the core principles of a fair and just society.

Calum MacKellar is the Director of Research of the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics in Edinburgh and a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Bioethics and Emerging Technologies at St Mary’s University.

Roberto Andorno is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law and a Research Associate in the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich.

Matthew James is Associate Professor in Bioethics and Medical Law and the Director of the Centre for Bioethics and Emerging Technologies at St Mary’s University.