Question:
Is genetic research ethical? I am a student working on my degree in biochemistry, and I want to work with finding hereditary diseases early on and to help with the gene therapy of the patients to lead a healthy life.
Answer:
It can be ethical, provided it does not violate bioethical guidelines, e.g., avoiding research that involves human cloning or the creation and destruction of embryonic human beings via in vitro fertilization and embryonic stem cell research.
For more information, please see Dignitatis Personae, the Congregation for the Doctrine’s instruction on certain bioethical questions. See also the New Charter for Health Care Workers, which the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance issued in 2017, an update of its 1995 version.
For further information, contact the National Catholics Bioethics Center.
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