Genome Editing and the Law

The law is an essential parameter of the regulation of biomedicine. The patterns of law have to be reassessed in the light of new developments like CRISPR-Cas9. This is not about legal technicalities, rather at stake are fundamental evaluations of the pros and cons of CRISPR-Cas9. This is where morality and ethical judgment come into play. The task of the law is not to decide which moral view or ethical assessment is the true one. On the contrary, the law has to make moral plurality and ethical diversity operable within the constitutional framework of democracy. Looking at the legal situation in the UK may help to define an appropriate approach to regulate CRISPR-Cas9 in Germany.