The Medical Section’s dialogue evening at the Goetheanum on June 2, 2026, focused on gene therapy and genome editing. Pediatric neurologist Oswald Hasselmann spoke about current practices, opportunities, and risks involved.
“Coming Soon: The Designer Baby”: this newspaper headline prompted the leadership of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum to address the topic of genome editing for one of its dialogue evenings. Karin Michael, a pediatrician and co-leader of the Medical Section, began by highlighting the complexity of the topic: “When you read articles like this and are captivated by the idea that we’ll be able to control and manipulate everything in the world in the future, the ethical question is sometimes simply overlooked.”1
Genome editing, also known as genome surgery, refers to molecular biological methods for the precise modification of genetic material (DNA) in plants, animals, and humans. To shed light on the relationship between technical possibilities and ethics of this method, the section invited Oswald Hasselmann, a pediatric neurologist and president of the Swiss Society for Biomedical Ethics.
Three Clinical Pictures, Three Experiences
Oswald Hasselmann classified his clinical experience with gene therapy into three functional areas of the human organism: the nerve-sense system, the rhythmic system, and the metabolic-limb system.
The most advanced form of treatment is genetic therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, a condition where motor neurons die off. According to Hasselmann, children who receive early treatment can now grow up with very little impairment. This therapy is, however, among the most expensive in the world, remains limited to wealthy countries, and raises the question of who is being deprived of essential health resources (note all the healthcare cost-cutting measures, such as those currently being implemented in Germany). In the case of the second condition, thalassemia, a severe genetic blood disorder, there are patients who, following gene therapy, require significantly fewer life-prolonging blood transfusions; however, for some, the necessary accompanying chemotherapy is so taxing that they would not survive the procedure. As a third example, Hasselmann cited Duchenne muscular dystrophy, where muscle cells die off due to a genetic defect—a disease that, to date, remains incurable even with gene therapy.
CRISPR-Cas: The Method of the Future?
Hasselmann presented the CRISPR-Cas method as a next-generation tool, one that is already being used to treat patients with genetic disorders and certain types of cancer. This method could open the door to transhumanism: the possibility of selectively enhancing cognition, appearance, or disease resistance—in line with the illusory wish for a “designer baby.”
“We shudder at the thought of what may lie ahead,” said Hasselmann, referring to a quote by the philosopher Hans Jonas, who warned that “the consequences of an action must be compatible with the permanence of genuine human life on Earth.”
Chromosomes in the Age of the Consciousness Soul
From an anthroposophical-anthropological perspective, Hasselmann explained, “Chromosomes are the memory of what a human being is meant to and is capable of realizing in their earthly life.” Before the age of the consciousness soul [approx. 1413], and even as recently as 200 to 300 years ago, an intervention at the chromosomal level—had it been possible—would have had more direct effects on the formation of the ‘I’ as well. Today, Hasselmann assesses the situation differently: “In the age of the consciousness soul, the ‘I’ is elevated above this. The intervention extends to the boundary of the etheric body and the astral body, but probably not beyond that.”
The body that children inherit from their parents is gradually transformed into their own, particularly during the first seven years of life. “This transformation utilizes the parents’ body, including the inherited genes, as well as the individual impulse that each person brings with them.” Against this backdrop, doctors must ask themselves: “Are we permitted to intervene here, and if so, on what grounds?” Every intervention must—in the spirit of Rudolf Steiner—be tailored to the individual and their developmental path. An ethical posture arises from sustained engagement with patients and their families.
A Moral Compass Instead of Value Neutrality
Hasselmann and Michael offered critical commentary on the “value neutrality” often called for in scientific recommendations regarding societal debates on gene therapy and genome editing. In medicine, patients and therapists alike need a moral compass that cannot be replaced by objectivity alone.
To conclude the evening, Michael drew a connection to the current debate on genetic modification of plants and food and encouraged the audience to assert their right to information and to oppose legal regulations. Specifically, she cited the planned (and since adopted on June 17, 2026) EU legislation, under which genetic modifications of up to 20 base pairs in food products would no longer be subject to mandatory labeling.2 She criticized this move: “We are consciousness souls, and we want to know what we’re eating. I want to know if the fruit I’m eating has been modified, and I want to be free to decide whether I’ll still eat it. This is the demand of a modern person who takes responsibility for themselves and the environment—to demand this knowledge.”
Next dialogue evening 17 November 2026
Translation Joshua Kelberman
Photo Nicolas Prestifilippo
Footnotes
- Goetheanum TV, “Dialogabend: Können wir Eingriffe in das menschliche Genom verantworten?” [Dialogue evening: Can we justify interventions in the human genome?] video, accessed September 20, 2026. For all other quotations, see video.
- European Parliament and Council of the European Union, “Regulation (EU) 2026/1388 of 17 June 2026 on Plants Obtained by Certain New Genomic Techniques and Their Products,” Official Journal of the European Union, June 26, 2026, EUR-Lex.
