Greene Marsha, Master Zubin
Senior Policy Analyst, Peraton, Contracted to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 17E08, Alexandria, VA, 22350-3600, USA.
Biomedical Ethics Research Program, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
J Bioeth Inq. 2018 Sep;15(3):327-335. doi: 10.1007/s11673-018-9865-6. Epub 2018 Jul 2.
This paper presents an overview of the key ethical questions of performing gene editing research on military service members. The recent technological advance in gene editing capabilities provided by CRISPR/Cas9 and their path towards first-in-human trials has reinvigorated the debate on human enhancement for non-medical purposes. Human performance optimization has long been a priority of military research in order to close the gap between the advancement of warfare and the limitations of human actors. In spite of this focus on temporary performance improvement, biomedical enhancement is an extension of these endeavours and the ethical issues of such research should be considered. In this paper, we explore possible applications of CRISPR to military human gene editing research and how it could be specifically applied towards protection of service members against biological or chemical weapons. We analyse three normative areas including risk-benefit analysis, informed consent, and inequality of access as it relates to CRISPR applications for military research to help inform and provide considerations for military institutional review boards and policymakers.
本文概述了对军人进行基因编辑研究的关键伦理问题。CRISPR/Cas9带来的基因编辑能力的最新技术进展及其首次人体试验的发展道路，重新引发了关于非医学目的人类增强的辩论。长期以来，优化人类表现一直是军事研究的重点，以便弥合战争发展与人类行为局限性之间的差距。尽管专注于临时提升表现，但生物医学增强是这些努力的延伸，此类研究的伦理问题应予以考虑。在本文中，我们探讨了CRISPR在军事人类基因编辑研究中的可能应用，以及它如何具体应用于保护军人免受生物或化学武器的伤害。我们分析了三个规范领域，包括风险效益分析、知情同意以及与CRISPR在军事研究中的应用相关的获取不平等问题，以帮助军事机构审查委员会和政策制定者了解情况并提供考量因素。
