Deliberate extinction by genome modification: An ethical challenge

Among the ways that genome modification could be used to modify wild populations of organisms, the deliberate outcome of fully eradicating a species has received little critical attention. The lack of discussion leaves a difficult ethical question unresolved: When so much attention is given to the value of biodiversity and the conservation of species, what circumstances, paradoxically, might justify the deliberate, full extinction of a species? At least one species is now a preliminary candidate for full extinction, and cases under consideration for temporary suppression and local extinction might pose a risk of full extinction. We discuss three cases in which genome modification might be used to eradicate a species. Together, we argue, these cases suggest that deliberate full extinction might occasionally be acceptable, but only extremely rarely. The cases also highlight tensions within some widely held views about the conservation of species and the governance of genome editing.