I was using that as a short hand. The real ethical concern is about potential misuse of germline or embryo mods. ie how do you choose between the ethical ones

I was using that as a short hand. The real ethical concern is about potential misuse of germline or embryo mods. ie how do you choose between the ethical ones and the unethical ones? So if I found a mutation I could make to make people of a compliant disposition I could make an army of slaves. Note this is someone changing people before they are born ( this is to some extent the playing god bit - you are making a choice for somebody else - not yet born ). Most people who consider that to be not acceptable. Or how about a mutation that made people better soliders - one of the problems with warfare is the soliders can be mentally damaged by the things they have done or seen - surely it's better to make a solider that is unaffected.... ie the opportunities for good and evil are enormous - but until you have a mechanism to decide between those, it's easier to blanket ban. Even something that, on the face of it is benign - like a mutation that reduces the risk of heart attack - what happens if you later find out that it increases the risk of something else? You can't undo it later ( only for subsequent children by the same procedure ) - for the people already impacted. Again, the cautionary principle applies.