Criminal Law Evaluation And Multi-path Governance Of Human Gene Editing

Gene editing technology indicates that human beings have begun to realize substantial gene manipulation and genetic transformation,which is causing a revolution in the field of life science and technology.However,any kind of technological progress is a double-edged sword.It cannot be denied that the application of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in medicine has indeed improved the well-being of human health,but we should also realize that this new technology will also bring a series of medical,ethical and legal problems.On the one hand,CRISPR/Cas9 technology still can’t get rid of the risk of off-target,and gene defect,chromosome disorder and high mosaic rate are still problems that we can’t overcome at this stage.On the one hand,the abuse of gene editing has impacted social values and shaken the long-standing definition and characterization of fetus and human beings,and the problems such as anthropomorphism,eugenics and Matthew effect caused by transforming people as objects need our careful treatment;On the other hand,there are still some omissions in legislative regulation.Although "the crime of illegally implanting gene editing embryos" has been added in Criminal Law Amendment(Ⅺ),it is inevitable that there is a suspicion of responsive legislation.Its regulatory concept and legal interests of protection are still controversial,and its regulatory object,scope and interpretation rules still have room for improvement.In view of the above risks and problems in gene editing technology,when we regulate human gene editing behavior,we must first make it clear that the legal interests protected by criminal law in this respect are gene safety and ethical order of scientific and technological application.Secondly,regarding the concept of regulation,the author does not agree with the general theory that the attribute of the newly added crime of illegally implanting gene to edit embryos is regarded as an abstract dangerous crime,or that it is not an abstract dangerous crime in a strict sense,but rather a positive intervention of criminal law in the new society.To clarify these two points,the author classifies human gene editing behavior according to different research purposes and stages:human gene editing for gain and prevention needs to be regulated by criminal law;For human gene editing for therapeutic purposes,it needs to be further judged from the aspects of research type and research stage,and whether it is a crime or not should be comprehensively considered.The author thinks that gene editing for human germ-line cells should be regulated by criminal law from the animal experiment stage,including the subsequent clinical trials and clinical application stages,and the rest can be regulated by administrative law.In addition,the author further expounds the interpretation rules of criminal law evaluation of human gene editing behavior,and discusses it from the aspects of plot degree,criminal form and criminal subject.Finally,in order to better manage the field of human gene editing,it is one thing to rely on the coercive force of criminal law,and we can also build an all-round governance system of human gene editing behavior from the aspects of social governance,legislative convergence and institutional guarantee.