ABSTRACT

Since completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, advances in genomics have progressed rapidly, at times avoiding adequate regulation. The most newsworthy stories have described advances in DNA testing and cloning. More recently have been headlines regarding a DNA editing technique, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISP-R), capable of replacing defective parts of the human DNA sequence with healthy ones, even within fetuses. Reverberating moral issues surrounding genetic technology include the definition of being human, the source of the soul, and the preservation of human dignity. Yet little international public or classroom discourse, even from the International Federation of Social Workers, is heard about these concerns. Further, global genetics education for social workers and other social service providers is typically from a basic biology class. In addition, the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Program, of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), has not proven itself as an effective educational tool for social work professionals either locally or universally, thus leaving social workers largely in the dark about how to navigate the murky bioethical waters arising from genomic technology applications. Hence, the voice representing so many disenfranchised has gone practically unheard in discussions involving genetic science and its ethical, social, legal, and spiritual impact on client populations worldwide. However, to truly appreciate the advancement of genetic technology, the possible consequences for global societies, and hence the need for concern and oversight, one must first understand the basic history of genetics, as well as be familiar with some common terms: genetics, eugenics, genomics, and bioethics.