Una alarma nada excepcional: CRISPR/Cas9 y la edición de la línea germinal en seres humanos

Abstract

In this article, an analysis is presented on the birth of the first human beings subjected to an embryonic genetic modification using CRISPR/Cas9 technology from a perspective that considers the conditions that has led to its emergence. As opposed to the approaches presented so far by bioethics, an alternative account is presented that does not reduce the event to an act of individual disobedience, but rather conceives it as the expected result of certain epistemic, institutional, political, and economic dimensions of technoscience. Moreover, thoughts are presented on the role assumed by bioethics with regards to CRISPR/Cas9 and the response it has provided to its application in human embryos. It is concluded by suggesting that the model of bioethics based on heteronomy and the external control of science and technology is neither significant nor effective in the indicated context, with an alternative systemic approach being provided.