Because of its potential ease of use and widespread application to human health, CRISPR-Cas
has raised significant ethical and policy debate. The current Canadian policy landscape
on whether CRISPR and other gene editing technologies using embryos are permitted
is murky under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act. Although the AHRA remains ambiguous, several Canadian scholars interpret a clear
prohibition on gene editing but explain “that allowing gene editing in the context
of research, including pre-clinical research on germ cells prior to implantation…conforms
to the spirit of the Act.”
1
On the basis of our analysis of the AHRA and legislative and policy reports, we argue
that certain applications of CRISPR to reproductive material would be permissible,
but clarification from Health Canada is required before moving forward. Specifically,
CRISPR research could be permissible (1) using excess embryos where appropriate evidence
demonstrates negligible likelihood of transmission to descendants or when researchers
do not intend to transfer embryos to induce pregnancy, and (2) in gametes used to
create embryos for studies focused on improving assisted reproductive technologies.
Clear direction is required because international trends will force Canada to make
more permissible legislative amendments or risk a lag in Canadian science, innovation,
and clinical practice.Key Words
Abbreviations:
AHRA (Assisted Human Reproduction Act), ART (assisted reproductive technology), REBs (Research Ethical Boards), CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 12, 2017
Accepted:
August 16,
2017
Received:
June 26,
2017
Footnotes
Competing Interests: None declared.
Identification
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada/La Société des obstétriciens et gynécologues du Canada. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
