Conditional Legitimacy in Human Genome Editing

Ghanbarpor, Behnam

doi:10.22075/feqh.2023.28771.3420

Conditional Legitimacy in Human Genome Editing

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Behnam Ghanbarpor

Assistant Professor, Department of Law and Theology, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran

10.22075/feqh.2023.28771.3420

Abstract

One of the most astonishing achievements of humanity in recent decades is the interventions and manipulations carried out by scientists in the field of genetics. By discovering modern gene-editing technology, specialists have gained the ability to treat diseases by removing or editing undesirable and disease-causing genes in the human body or to instill desirable traits in individuals. The ruling on the permissibility or prohibition of such practices remains ambiguous and is a subject of debate among contemporary jurists. This study, using a descriptive-analytical method, examines the legitimacy of genetic interventions in humans by exploring the views of both opposing and supportive jurists. The findings suggest that the permissibility of genetic optimization can be justified with arguments such as the principle of permissibility (Asl al-Ibaha), the principle of treatment and healing, the rule of preserving life (Hifz al-Nafs), the rule of authority (Taslit), and the application of secondary rulings (Ahkam al-Thaniyah). Consequently, the study concludes that necessary changes in the human genome—whether in the area of gender or otherwise—are permissible under certain conditions, provided they are accompanied by therapeutic purposes, yield rational benefits, and promote the physical or psychological development of the fetus after birth. Additionally, the study recommends the establishment of regulations and supervisory laws over this technology.

Keywords

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