DRAFT #2:
Red Cantabria wrote:Human Genetic Integrity Act
The General Assembly,
NOTING the rapid progress of genetic engineering and biotechnology,
EVALUATING the potential benefits to disease treatment, the quality of life, and scientific research,
ACKNOWLEDGING the serious ethical, medical, legal, and societal considerations relating to heritable genetic modification in sapient beings,
CONCERNED that unrestricted genetic modification may have irreversible effects, exploit vulnerable beings, or result in misuse of sapient and non-sapient beings.
DETERMINED to adopt minimum international standards governing genetic modification in a manner that promotes safe, ethical scientific research.
The World Assembly hereby:
1. DEFINES "genetic modification" as the deliberate insertion, deletion, substitution, or regulation of genetic material or functional genes within an organism through artificial means; genetic modification includes heritable and non-heritable techniques.
2. DEFINES "sapient beings" as an organism identified by a Member State or the World Assembly as possessing self-awareness, higher reasoning, and legal personhood.
3. PROHIBITS heritable modification of the embryos, germ cells or equivalent of sapient beings unless all of the following criteria are met:
a. It is licensed under national legislation.
b. An independent scientific and ethical review finds it to be sufficiently safe and effective,
c. Its stated purpose is to correct a serious hereditary disease, increase adaptability to the environment, or secure long-term survival (or a similar lawfully justified purpose).
d. Authorization is given by lawfully recognized decision makers in the best interests of the prospective individual.
4. PROHIBITS non-medical enhancements in sapient beings, where:
a. It is done without informed consent from the individual concerned, or (if that is impossible) without lawful approval and third-party supervision,
b. It has not been given independent scientific and ethical review,
c. It carries disproportionate risk to the prospective individual and/or subsequent generations.
d. Its primary intention is to confer unfair, unequal or coercive advantages to certain individuals.
5. AFFIRMS the sovereignty of individual Members States to grant permission for voluntary medical enhancements or heritable modification, provided these approvals conform to international ethical and medical standards.
6. EXEMPTS non-heritable genetic therapy from the provisions of sections 3 and 4 above, provided these therapies are used to diagnose, prevent or treat a disease or injury according to accepted medical and scientific principles, and ethical standards.
7. AFFIRMS that in certain circumstances, national law may permit voluntary genetic modification for survival, adaptation, or other legitimate goals when based on sound scientific reasoning and appropriate ethical and medical review.
8. PROHIBITS gene modification performed solely for the elimination of naturally occurring neurodiversity, variability of cognition, or other similar inherited traits where those traits do not represent pathology. Above proviso shall not be interpreted as hindering the treatment of disease, disorder or medical condition even where those conditions are associated with the above mentioned traits.
9. REQUIRES that any investigation involving the genetic modification of material from sapient beings to have obtained prior authorization from an independent national bioethics body.
10. ADOPTS a policy requiring consent where appropriate, honesty, respect for the humane treatment of individuals being genetically modified, and adequate protections during any genetic modification procedures.
11. PROHIBITS the sale or commerce of genetically modified sapient embryonic material, gametes and/or heritable genetic material for reproductive purposes.
12. DEMANDS appropriate welfare standards and ethical guidelines be adopted for the genetic modification of non-sapient animals.
13. HEREBY ESTABLISHES the World Genetic Ethics Oversight Commission (WGEOC). The WGEOC shall:
a. Oversee application of this resolution.
b. Assess, against widely accepted international ethical criteria, the capabilities of national bioethics authorities.
c. Investigate claims that organisms have been knowingly misclassified as non-sapient to circumvent this resolution.
d. Publish recommendations not to be binding and guidelines for best practice.
14. URGES Member States to co-operate in sharing information related to emerging technologies, ethical guidelines, scientific and technical developments, and risks and issues associated with the use of these technologies.
15. CALLS UPON Member States to adopt appropriate criminal, civil and/or administrative sanctions for violations committed knowingly under the terms of regulations implementing this resolution.
16. AFFIRMS that this resolution does not prevent conventional selective breeding or genetic research conducted in conformity with its guidelines.
17. HEREBY DECLARES that this resolution sets out the minimum standards to avoid the misuse of genetic modification while permitting reasonable and beneficial research into this technology benefiting all sapient beings.
Authors: Red Cantabria, co Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
