Associate Attorney Nathaniel Woodward Published in the Willamette Law Review

Associate Attorney Nathaniel Woodward was recently published in the Willamette Law Review. His paper, “Designing People: A Bioethical Analysis of the Laws and Regulations Regarding the Genetic Manipulation of Human Fetuses,” analyzes the emerging field of biotechnology and its development of advanced genetic manipulation such as CRISPR Cas-9. In addition, it analyzes the origins, uses, and potential for CRISPR Cas-9 and how a centuries-old legal system might adapt to provide critical regulation for this emerging field.

By providing insight into how disruptive technologies develop and how the public, politicians, and scientists have not instituted safeguards against the potential issues arising from the new technology, Nathaniel argues that the method of making of law after a dispute arises is too slow when it comes to this type of advancement. It is not only necessary to preemptively have a regulatory framework in place to protect the public from any unintended effects or even mad-scientist disasters (however unlikely those may be), but also to protect the public from the possibility that outdated healthcare policy may cause this significant technological advancement to widen the global socio-economic gap.

Read the Published Paper.

To access the paper without a subscription contact Nathaniel Woodward at [email protected].