"Molecular scissors" cuts & replaces faulty DNA. Is it surgery or editing God's creation?

CRISPR is a current scientific tool that is reshaping medicine, genetics and the future of human life. As Catholics, we are called to understand this technology through the lens of human dignity, moral ethics and Catholic teaching.

CRISPR is an abbreviation for “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.” These repeats are natural patterns found in bacterial DNA.

• Scientists discovered that bacteria already use CRISPR to cut and disable viruses that alter their DNA.
• This discovery led to the development of CRISPR-Cas9, a tool that acts like a molecular scissors, capable of cutting and “repairing” human DNA.

How does CRISPR work? CRISPR uses 3 main components to remove harmful genetic material and replace it with healthy DNA, in theory.

• A guide RNA that locates the exact DNA sequence
• A Cas9 enzyme that cuts the DNA and
• A repair process that replaces or fixes the targeted gene.

What is an example use of CRISPR? Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is caused by a gene mutation which makes red blood cells stiff and crescent-shaped. These cells break, block blood vessels, causing pain, strokes and organ damage. In theory, CRISPR claims to work by:

• collecting a patient’s own stem cells (auto-logous)
• editing the faulty gene
• reinfusing the corrected cells
• allowing the body to produce healthy red blood cells

This approach does not involve embryos — which aligns with Catholic moral teaching. The FDA claims 94% success with no crises at 12 months. Yet, medical literature describes issues, mostly from gene edits. In addition, long-term risks i.e. cancers are unknown, because autologous gene editing is new. Moreover, the procedure has tremendous risks. Patients must weight risks and benefits.

• Patients undergo myelo-ablation chemotherapy, which risks infertility, infections, organ toxicity, nausea, hair loss and dangerously low blood counts requiring transfusions.
• The stem-cell transplant phase can lead to delayed engraftment, hospitalization, and immune suppression.
• The unsuccessful 6% of cases have severe pain and crises after treatment.

CRISPR carries significant medical risks that require upfront genetic counseling. At this time, the medical literature on gene editing side effects is not encouraging. Would I let my child undergo CRISPR?

Absolutely not. This is not my field and I cannot prove this, but I believe splicing is how the 2-in-1 Covid/SARs virus was created; based on its perfect seams seen under the microscope. Look how that went. We know too little about genes to pretend "to fix" them. Moreover, what problems do imposed seams upon DNA bring? Seams have raw edges, frays and loose strands. What happens to these living, amputated and transplanted segments? 

Damage from splicing at seam sites (that we know of)

• Chemical instability. DNA/RNA linkages are susceptible to hydrolysis, oxidation, and/or alkylation damage, Biology LibreTexts.
• DNA strand breaks. These form when spliced mRNA remains bound to DNA. These structures break and create replication stress if not resolved, MDPI.
• Disruption of proteins. Splicing disrupts the production of proteins, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov+1.
• Mutations. If damage at splice junctions is not repaired, it can lead to altered protein function and mutations, Biology LibreTexts. What is the point of fixing a singular genetic mutation i.e. sickle cells, if we risk is creating more?
• More issues not disclosed or even known at this time. 

Catholic Teaching: What Is Allowed

1. Therapeutic Gene-Editing in Existing Persons. The Church supports gene therapy that heals a living person and respects human dignity. Sources are below.

• Dignitas Personae, section 26
• Charter for Health Care Workers, genetic manipulation section

2. Research That Protects Human Life. Research that avoids harming embryos and that respects moral law is encouraged. Sources are below.

• Donum Vitae, introduction
• Caritas in Veritate, section 75

Catholic Teaching: What Is NOT Allowed

1. Editing Embryos or Creating them for Research. Embryos are human persons with full dignity from the moment of conception. Editing, discarding or manufacturing embryos is gravely immoral. Sources are below.

• Donum Vitae, I.1 and I.4
• Dignitas Personae, sections 22–23

2. Germline Editing. Editing sperm, eggs, or embryos in ways that affect future generations is morally unacceptable per Dignitas Personae, sections 26–30.

3. Designer Babies and/or Enhancement. Changing traits for preference or advantage that violates human dignity, sources below.

• Dignitas Personae, section 26
• Caritas in Veritate, section 75

4. Replacing the Marital Act with Artificial Procreation. Synthetic embryos, artificial wombs, and technologies that bypass the marital act contradict the meaning of human life and family. Sources are below.

• Donum Vitae, II
• Dignitas Personae, sections 16–17

Catholic Teaching: Undefined

The pace of modern science outpaces the Church’s ability to comment. Pope/St John Paul II recognized this and created the Pontifical Academy for Life for this purpose. In addition to human genome editing, other topics they research are AI, robo-ethics, global bioethics and consciousness/neuroscience ethics. Meanwhile, below are modern CRISPR uses that fall outside Church Teaching, that they need to address.

• CRISPR used for longevity or extreme lifespan extension
• CRISPR for cognitive enhancement
• CRISPR combined with AI embryo selection
• CRISPR in artificial wombs
• CRISPR used to create synthetic human embryos
• CRISPR applied to human–animal chimeras and/or vice versa (organ growing)
• CRISPR used in population-level genetic changes

What else do we not know about CRISPR? Each raises questions about dignity, consent, identity and the fullness of being human.

Prayer: God First, God Always

Lord, You are ever our guide, Your wisdom forever our pride.
When science seems bright, keep it in light, so Your will is how we abide.

As knowledge grows & expands, and power gets out of hand.
Let humility stay, as we walk in Your way. Your will is forever our plan.

As dignity degrades in lab losses, and genes are reshaped by bad bosses.
Let Truth be our aim & Love be our flame; so no lines are morally crossed.

O Lord, keep our motives refined, so Your will is the path that we find.
Let good science lead, and be as You need, so creation can blow every mind!

Sources

Benedict XVI. (2009). Caritas in Veritate. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. (1987). Donum vitae. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. (2008). Dignitas personae. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Pontifical Academy for Life. (2017). Ethics of genome editing. Holy See.

Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers. (1995). Charter for health care workers. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (n.d.). Bioethics Materials. USCCB.