title: What is morally distinctive about genetic engineering?
abstract: It sometimes seems that genetic engineering is suspect, both to its practitioners and to the general public, because it is perceived as being somehow unnatural. This essay argues, on the basis of an analysis of two senses of "natural," that there is nothing distinctively morally problematic about genetic engineering, at least on the grounds of its alleged unnaturalness. It does not follow that we cannot distinguish among morally legitimate and morally suspect uses of genetic engineering. But these distinctions can and should be drawn on the basis of the same considerations that enter into the evaluation of particular uses of any other medical procedure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame, IN 46556.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D026689:Ethical Analysis; D028663:Ethical Theory; D004989:Ethics; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005053:Eugenics; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D040821:Human Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D028723:Personhood; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012945:Social Values; D028725:Theology; D026712:Value of Life