15 The Big Decisions—And How to Make Them

The last chapter dealt with assessing (and potentially assuring) the safety of human germline genome editing and ultimately making decisions based on safety-related evidence. But safety is not the only criterion, and may not be the most important. Proof of reasonable safety should be essential to any approved clinical use, but it may well not be sufficient. Two other big decisions that go beyond just scientific and medical questions must be answered: Should human germline genome editing be banned altogether, and, if not, should it be permitted only for limited uses and under certain conditions? And perhaps the most important question is how to make those two decisions. This final chapter explores those issues.