Genetic engineering

1⃣ Genetic engineering: what you need to know

What it is

Genetic engineering involves deliberately changing genetic material to alter biological traits.

In medicine, this mainly includes:

  • Gene therapy – fixing or replacing faulty genes to treat disease
    (e.g. inherited disorders)

  • Genetic screening – identifying disease risk, not changing genes

  • Gene editing (e.g. CRISPR) – precise changes to DNA (mostly research-stage)

Current medical focus

  • Treating serious genetic diseases

  • Improving understanding of disease mechanisms

  • Research rather than routine clinical use (especially in embryos)

Key interview phrase:

“Current medical use focuses on treating disease, not enhancing traits.”

2⃣ Eugenics: what it is and why it’s controversial

Definition

Eugenics is the idea of improving the human population by selecting for “desirable” traits and excluding “undesirable” ones.

Why it matters ethically

  • Historically associated with forced sterilisation, discrimination, and human rights abuses

  • Based on subjective ideas of “normal” or “superior”

  • Conflicts with:

    • Equality

    • Human dignity

    • Respect for diversity

Strong interview point:

“Eugenics prioritises social ideals over individual rights and autonomy.”

3⃣ Key ethical difference (very important)

Interviewers love this distinction:

Genetic engineering

Eugenics

Aims to treat disease

Aims to shape society

Focuses on patient welfare

Often ignores individual autonomy

Can be ethical if regulated

Ethically unacceptable

4⃣ Designer babies: what this means

“Designer babies” refers to genetically modifying embryos to select or alter traits such as:

  • Eye colour

  • Height

  • Intelligence

Currently:

  • Not legal in the UK

  • Embryo research is tightly regulated

  • Germline editing raises major ethical concerns because changes are heritable

5⃣ Main ethical concerns about designer babies

🧬 Safety

  • Long-term effects unknown

  • Risk of unintended genetic consequences

⚖ Inequality

  • Likely accessible only to wealthy families

  • Could widen social and health inequalities

🧠 Consent

  • Future child cannot consent to permanent genetic changes

🚨 Slippery slope to eugenics

  • Risk of shifting from disease prevention to trait enhancement

  • Reinforces harmful ideas about “ideal” humans

Good phrase:

“There is a risk of crossing from therapy into enhancement.”

6⃣ UK legal & ethical stance (brief)

  • Strong emphasis on regulation

  • Disease prevention is treated very differently from enhancement

  • Decisions guided by:

    • Patient welfare

    • Human rights

    • Social impact

7⃣ Example interview question & model answer

Interview Question

“What are your views on designer babies?”

Model Answer (1–2 minutes)

“Designer babies raise significant ethical concerns. While genetic technology has great potential to prevent serious inherited diseases, altering embryos to select non-medical traits crosses into enhancement rather than treatment. This raises issues around safety, as long-term effects are unknown, and consent, since future children cannot choose these changes. There is also a real risk of widening social inequalities and promoting eugenic thinking by implying some traits are more valuable than others. In the UK, the focus is rightly on using genetic technology to reduce suffering from disease, not to engineer ideal traits. As a future doctor, I believe strong regulation and a patient-centred approach are essential to ensure these technologies are used ethically.”

8⃣ What interviewers are really assessing

They are looking for:

  • Ethical reasoning

  • Awareness of historical context

  • Respect for equality and diversity

  • Ability to balance innovation with caution

  • Clear distinction between treatment and enhancement

🔑 One-line takeaway you can reuse

“Genetic technology has huge medical potential, but without careful regulation it risks reinforcing inequality and undermining human dignity.”