Institute of History and Ethics of Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Bioethics. 2020 Jan;34(1):41-48. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12608. Epub 2019 Jun 20.
The human genome is commonly regarded as a 'natural' connection between all human beings, as it has been handed down to us by our predecessors. As such, it is believed to represent common heritage of humanity, e.g. a resource of outstanding value that should be the object of special protection and international concern. Some critics argue that germline manipulation would disrupt this natural heritage and that we have a duty to preserve the integrity of the human germline. However, a closer look reveals that the concept of common heritage of humanity does not necessarily imply the impermissibility of germline manipulation. If it is restricted to the prevention of severe diseases, germline manipulation does not represent a threat to the unity and identity of the human species, even though this would create a new form of relationship between human beings, namely that between a designer and a genetically designed person.
人类基因组通常被视为所有人类之间的“自然”联系，因为它是我们的前辈遗传给我们的。因此，它被认为是人类的共同遗产，例如一种具有特殊保护和国际关注价值的资源。一些批评者认为，生殖系操纵会破坏这种自然遗产，我们有责任保护人类生殖系的完整性。然而，仔细观察表明，人类共同遗产的概念并不一定意味着生殖系操纵的不可行性。如果将其限制在预防严重疾病的范围内，生殖系操纵并不会对人类物种的统一性和身份构成威胁，尽管这将在人类之间创造一种新的关系，即设计者和基因设计人之间的关系。
