2 Moral questions regarding genetic editing and space travel

[WA_Catholic]

I have been having a hard time figuring out the morality of these two things and I thought it might make for an interesting discussion.

1. Pre-Natal Genetic Editing: Is it moral or not? Now clearly the means by which we are genetic editing today is wrong (Fertilizing eggs outside the womb, editing in a lab) but in the future if a child is conceived in the womb and genes are able to be edited through surgery, would that be immoral. For instance a mother is carrying a child that will have Down syndrome but early in the pregnancy the genes can be corrected or modified to eliminate the Down syndrome. Or for me for example, I was born without the ability to smell, would it have been immoral for my parents to genetically edit me so I could smell assuming I was conceived naturally and genetically edited in the womb?
2. Time Travel: Would it be sinful if it is possible? I imagine, what would happen if I time travel to the time of Jesus? Or what if I change the past? Would altering or being in a time and place in the universe that God did place you to be a sin? And building off of this, is there a limit to manipulating our physical reality that would be immoral or offensive to God. Would Terraforming planets, creating our own stars, or populating the galaxy be a sin? Creating our own universe (if it is possible)?

 

[avemariagratiaplena]

1. If therapeutic or restorative it is not immoral (fixing down syndrome is a therapy, fixing a sense of smell is a therapy, etc).
2. It would not be immoral, God’s Providence would include you time-traveling and you couldn’t subvert His plans if this were possible. Creating things is not immoral, nor terraforming things, or making a universe.

 

[JerryZ]

Time travel although theoretically it could be possible in practice is almost a chimera, unattainable. The reasons are these. First we need to understand that a moment in History is not just a locus in the Time dimension but it also entails the other 3. So to go back in Time it is required to not only go back in the T dimension but also to the same X, Y, Z dimensions where the location was relative to the Universe. To achieve this what Physics proposes is to open a wormhole between the 2 points of the Time-Space Continuum and transit from 1 place to the other. The amount of energy required to do this is so astronomically high that well you get the point.
As for medical treatments for ailments the morality is how are we achieving this. If it does not involve an evil act to get this treatment then it is allowed.
This is always the primary concern of any medical treatments that are in development or have been proposed.

Peace!

 

[GEddie]

There would be no sin in using gene therapy to restore your nose, or correcting any other congenital defect.

There is nothing specifically sacred about genes. The techniques now available may presently be inseparable from immoral reproductive procedures, but the science itself is not per we wrong.

I’ve always believed that part of our destiny would be to carry life to other worlds, which would include terraformation. I’d not be surprised however, if we have to wait for our spiritual bodies before that becomes possible.

ICXC NIKA