INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

under these broad and encompassing headings are the ethical issues
that one need consider to assess the moral acceptability of gene
doping in sport.
One needs to consider an athlete’s intentions in undergoing a gene
therapy. Considerable differences are present in athletes who might
undergo a gene therapy to correct a genetic disorder or treat an
otherwise incurable disease or illness than in athletes who simply want
to make their bodies better suited to achieving athletic success. A
method of distinguishing elective enhancements from medically
necessary therapies in athletes is needed. There is a definite chance
that an athlete’s motivation for using performance-enhancing
measures comes from the lure of fame and endorsements that often
coincide with winning an Olympic medal, or from the pressure and
coercion of individuals who greatly influence the athlete. Thus, one
must evaluate the degree to which coercion and paternalism influence
an athlete’s desire to gene dope.
Gene doping has the potential to harm many different individuals
and groups of people. Ethical issues might include harm to the athlete
who gene dopes from side effects and complications from overexpressing
performance-enhancing genes. Imposing a ban on gene
doping implies that sport-governing bodies have a better
understanding of what is in the athletes’ best interest than the athletes
themselves do. Accordingly, if the use of gene transfer technologies to
genetically enhance athletes does not cause physical harm to the
athletes who undergo the procedures, or to anyone else, then perhaps
gene doping might not be unethical.
Other athletes may be harmed if they feel that a few athletes
choosing to receive gene transfers of performance-enhancing genes
propagates a vicious cycle that coerces others to undergo similar
procedures or settle for second place. Gene doping can also harm
society as a whole if people perceive gene transfers to represent the
creation of athletically superior human beings in a manner remnant of
the eugenics movement carried out by the Third Reich in Nazi
Germany. This negative association has the potential to repulse people
and cause them to reject gene transfer procedures based on their
similarity to past events instead of by what they actually entail. Prejudging
the acceptability of gene transfers poses a problem for the
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