Journal of Philosophical Research

Volume 32, Issue Supplement, 2007

Ethics and the Life Sciences

Germ-line Genetic Enhancements and Rawlsian Primary Goods

Genetic interventions raise a host of moral issues and, of its various species, germ-line genetic enhancement is the most morally contentious. This paper surveys various arguments against germ-line enhancement and attempts to demonstrate their inadequacies. A positive argument is advanced in favor of certain forms of germ-line enhancements, which holds that they are morally permissible if and only if they augment Rawlsian primary goods, either directly or by facilitating their acquisition.