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The First Barriers in the Human Genetic Engineering Debate

This chapter begins with a brief history of the eugenics debates up until the 1950s, when the human genetic engineering debate emerged. Midcentury genetic scientists wanted to make distinctions between themselves and the now vilified eugenicists, so they created two barriers: the somatic/germline and the disease/enhancement barrier. Above both was “somatic gene therapy,” which became ethically acceptable, and the subject of medical research. The chapter continues by showing how these barriers were weakened over the decades by both a change in our scientific knowledge and the dominant values used in the debate. By the end of the 20th century they remained standing on the slope, albeit in weakened form.