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Claire Palmer
Professor Richard
Informal Proposal
11th April 2016

Purpose
I am witting this letter to propose a solution to the creation of the CRISPR-Cas9, which is
a mechanism that scientist have created in order to change the RNA in a childs genome. The
approach to this mechanism is to be able to stop genetically heritable diseases so that children
can get a chance to live a normal life when they wouldnt be able to, but it has the ability to also
enhance a childs genome by changing the way they will look, how they act, and what they
become good at. Parents who can afford it could ultimately create the perfect human being, by
not only making them disease free, but also making them athletic, intelligent, and beautiful.
I suggest that there be restrictions when it comes to the making and usage of the
CRISPR-Cas9, because this mechanism could futurity create not only moral and ethical
problems in society, but also cause us to invent a species that could destroy us. Scientists dont
realize that the making of the perfect human being could create indestructible mutations or
diseases, and cause societal separation.

Problem of the CRISPR-Cas9

When society thinks of having the opportunity of creating a perfect human being,
everyone jumps on board and is all for it. Scientist even think that it could only possible help
society, by giving children who would usually die at a young age or be disabled for the rest of
their life, a chance to be a normal human being, without suffering the consequences. Though
thats just it, when it comes to changing what destiny, nature, and evolution created, their will
always be consequences. If we would just stick to only helping the children in need of changing
their genome, so they can stay clear of the heritable life threatening disease in their families, then
that would be fine, but society always takes it too far. Scientist creation of the CRISPR-Cas9 not

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only gives the people the opportunity to make their child disease free, but also change their hair
color, eye color, skin color, intelligence, atheism, and attitude. This is where science crosses the
line and peoples ideas wonder to places that they shouldnt be.
Down Syndrome, Sickle Cell Anima, Cystic Fibrosis, and Huntingtons Disease ruin
countless peoples lives, and untimely kill most in the end. This is a problem society has been
trying to fix for a multitude of years and now the answer is right in front of them. However, with
this mechanism there needs to be guidelines and restrictions to stop people of society and
scientists from creating something that could destroy us in the end. Before we perfect a human
being we need to perfect the mechanism and the consequences of the mechanism. It is too early
for scientists to fully know if the CRISPR-Cas9 could create something that cant be fixed. This
machine not only changes the RNA genome for that only child, but also for that childs family.
The traits in which the CRISPR-Cas9 gives to that child can be passed down to the next
generation if that child were to have a baby in the future. Scientist dont see how terrifying the
outcome of that could be, because if we create something we cant fix like a mutation or a
disease, then that can me carried on, and on, and on to generations to come.
Morals and ethics also play a huge role in that genetic modification of humans through
CRISPR-Cas9. Scientists do not take into account that if a child is sculpted like a piece of art
work by its parents, then do they truly believe they are who they should be. It is not only the
physical traits that could end up hurting us genetically, but also people mentally. Children could
end up not looking anything like their parents, because their parents could create them based off
of dreams of their own, which could entirely goes against what that child wants. The genomes of
these children would be changed before they even become a person. So in the end they dont
ever get to be who they truly are, but instead they live under the constant expectations of their
parents dreams and ideas. Which could result in mental disorders, and societal controversies.

Solution to the Problem

I propose that the CRISPR-Cas9 should be completely ineffective, since we dont know
of the outcomes it could create for human beings since there hasnt been a child that has had their
RNA effectively changed and grown up into. Though since the Government has given scientists

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the ability to use CRISPR-Cas9 on animals for experimentation, then there needs to be set
limitations and restrictions for the usage of this mechanism on children when it is fully cleared
by the FDA. With that being said, parents of their children should not have the decision to
enhance their childs genome at all, but they should have the ability to fix the heredity disease
that the child would be born with. This will stop humans from creating the perfect human
being and realize that children are humans not pieces of art to show off. This will also stop us
from creating incurable mutations and diseases that could happen when the genome of the child
is what scientist think of as fixed or perfect.

Costs
When it comes to the usage of the CRISPR-Cas9, the fixation of one gene letter
(A,C,D,G) can amount to about $400 dollars or more based off of how extensive and how risky it
is to fix that gene. It also depends on the disease that is being fix, a less rare disease such as
Follicular Lymphoma, would be more expensive to fix per letter compared to Sickle Cell
Anemia, because doctors see less of the Follicular Lymphoma disease so it takes longer to find
what they are looking for as well as harder to geneticist fix the creation of the genome. As for the
enhancement for eye color, hair color, skin color, intelligence, atheism, and personality, it would
be even far more expensive than fixing a disease, because those genes hold on average six letters
per gene, and each letter would have to be changed in order to create a different outcome than it
originally was. Based off these findings, what could be concluded would be that only the rich or
well off would be about to afford CRISPR-Cas9, causing a greater separation between the rich or
well off and the poor or homeless.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I think there should be regulation and limitations on the enhancing of
genetically modified babies using the CRISPR-Cas9. By doing this society could cause less
problems to arise when using that CRISPR-Cas9, while still being able to help children in need
of help that have these incurable hereditary diseases without enhancing any other traits. It would
also increase a childs chance of a normal life, without creating more problems than society
already has, such as mutations, more disease, moral or ethical controversies, and segregation.

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