Genetic Engineering: A Fundamental Moral Approach: Genetic Manipulation in Human Beings

Genetic Engineering: A Fundamental Moral Approach. Recent discoveries in molecular biology have radically altered the science of genetics, posing new challenges for scientists and moralists alike. This new genetics requires a new model of creation that adequately addresses the weaknesses of two models of creation, the stewardship model and the co-creator model, that have been used to assess the limits and possibilities of genetic manipulation in human beings. Using a retrieved natural law approach, the author specifies a third model of creation that he calls "limited co-creator." As a corrective to the two earlier models, the limited co-creator model steers a middle course between prohibiting or severely limiting genetic manipulation and allowing unlimited genetic manipulation. This analysis will be of value to theologians, scientists, and general readers who are looking for a clearly articulated methodology that can be used to assess the feasibility of conducting genetic engineering in human beings prior to going down the clinical path.