Protecting women by moderating men? Gene line editing in the case of the MAOA gene and social markers

Thesis

In this thesis, it is argued that there are serious reasons to consider gene editing to prevent unusually violent males from existing. Violence disproportionately impacts women, girls and sexual minorities perpetrated largely by cisgender non intersex heterosexual males. I address the premise that there is a good reason to consider gene editing to prevent (unusually) violent males from coming into existence. I draw on the example of the MAOA-L genetic variant specific to males and found to be a key factor in certain cases of male aggression. I first consider that violence against women and vulnerable groups (WVG) is a very serious problem and most methods to solve it have failed. Furthermore, there is reason to think that the usual approaches will continue to fail and cannot be reformed because of entrenched patriarchal societies, poor investment and late intervention. They will also likely continue to fail because male aggression is on the increase across global populations. One alternative approach that might be considered is investigating the biological dimensions of violence. Using biomarkers to predict violence has been proposed but as I will show, this faces serious problems, both scientifically and ethically. Another approach, that plausibly would not be subject to the same objections would be to try to intervene in biology earlier, through gene editing in embryo. By extending arguments set out by McMahan and Savulescu on embryo selection versus gene editing I consider the permissibility around MAOA-L gene editing. Objections still exist in the space of regulation and democratisation. I will show however that gene editing does not fall prey to scientific or ethical objections sufficient to show it should not be seriously entertained. Research into this approach must be invested in and I conclude that gene editing to address male violence against WVG should be considered more significantly.

Authors: Emerson-Keeler, R

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-2zk761nvd
• Type of award: M.St.
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: MAOA; ethics; CRISPR; sexual violence; gender; gene editing; bioethics; intergenerational justice; cisgender violence
• Subjects: Gene editing; Bioethics; Gender-based violence