Research On Ethical Issues Of Gene Enhancement Technology

With the development of science and technology, the tools of human enhancement become more advanced, and the time of intervention has become more earlier, we even can enhance the unborn generation, we hope to enhance ourselves fundamentally by perfecting our gene. Gene enhancement is such a technology that can help us achieve the goal. The gene enhancement technology not only brings mankind tremendous benefits, but also becomes the focus of social concern, bringing a lot of ethical issues, which cause the social intense and extensive discussion. This paper is going to discuss the ethical issues about genetic enhancement technique. The whole paper consists of four parts.The first part describes the purpose of the research of gene enhancement, research status and research methods in China and abroad. The paper pointed that the gene enhancement technology on the one hand will made mankind to enhance themselves, on the other hand will bring all sorts of harmfulness; the paper sorts out the relevant domestic researches,and analysis the Chinese and foreign scholars' research achievements and its deficiencies; the paper uses literature research, inductive analysis, comparative analysis and interdisciplinary research methods.The second part discussed the concepts of genetic enhancement, pointed out that genetic enhancement will have four types of possible effects : physiological enhancement, psychological enhancement, cognitive enhancement and physical characteristics of enhancement. And based on the concepts of disease, healthy and normal, analysis the related division of medical gene enhancement and non medical gene enhancement, the relationship and difference between gene enhancement and gene therapy.In the third part, it discusses the social ethical problems caused by gene enhancement, which is mainly about security, privacy and discrimination, fairness and the value of human being. By discussing gene enhancement ethical issues, it shows that gene enhancement technology itself is not unmoral, we can't blindly against its research and development and the ethical issues will be solved step by step with the progress of society and science, legal and ethical constraints.The fourth part studies the ethical principles and countermeasures of gene technology. The paper propose to insist the principle of no harm, the principle of informed consent, confidentiality and monitoring principle; improve the scientific and technological workers moral consciousness, provide the appropriate legal protection, strengthen the supervision and guidance of the ethics committee, improve the government's macro-control efforts and improve the ability of public participation and strengthen the supervision of public opinion.