News Release

Hastings Center Report, May-June 2026

The ethics of describing gene-editing therapy for sickle cell disease

Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Hastings Center

Transformed but Not Cured: The Ethics of Describing Gene-Editing Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease

Jada Wiggleton-Little,  Shameka Poetry Thomas,  Kristin Walters,  Consuela Albright

In December 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved gene-editing therapies as sickle cell disease treatments. They not only mark a radical scientific innovation for populations living with sickle cell disease, but they have also generated an expectation of a potential cure. This essay, however, cautions against framing gene-editing therapy as a “cure” for sickle cell disease.

Also in this issue:

At Law: Banning Gender-Affirming Treatment for Minors: The Supreme Court Speaks

Rebecca Dresser

Article: Musical Performance and Biomedical Human Enhancement: Ethnographic Perspectives on Bioethical Questions

Jennifer Saltzstein

Article: Mandated Drug Treatment in the Criminal Legal System—a Blunt but Necessary Tool?

Brendan Saloner

Other Voices

Rethinking Mandated Drug Treatment: Why Expanding Freedom Requires Structural Drug Policy Reform

Tim Holland, Tiffany O'Donnell

Harm Reduction as an Alternative to Mandated Drug Treatment

Elliott J. Liebling

Perspective

Making the Move to a Learning System of Research Ethics

Neal W. Dickert

Table of Contents Hastings Center Report: Vol 56, No 3

 

For more information, contact:

Susan Gilbert
Director of Communications
The Hastings Center for Bioethics
845-424-4040 x244
gilberts@thehastingscenter.org.

 

 


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