Researching the future potential of embryonic stem cells is the new hot topic debate in ethics. The moral objections from two opposing sides clash in a political and ethical battle of who is correct. Each faction tries to define the classification of what deserves unalienable human rights. Likewise, determining what is classified as human behavior such as sentiment, interests and pain has been the ground on which pro-stem cell research stand. Since these embryos share only genetic similarities and no human characteristics, it is permissible to this stance to kill them in the name of medicine. On the other hand, anti-embryonic stem cell research believes that the human life begins at conception. Consequently, the status of the embryo is considered human and should deserve respect and rights the same as a human. In this term paper, two differing argumentative articles will be analyzed for ethical theories.
The reason researches in the biomedical field want to harvest and test stem cells are because of their unknown capabilities to perhaps cure Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease and spinal cord injuries. Research has been slowed by differing opinions on the definition of the status of the embryo as morally or genetically human. Richard M. Doerflinger calls this difference of opinion a “confrontation between religion and science” (Doerflinger, 2010).Stem cell research is focused on embryos that are donated by couples who have created embryos through in-vitro fertilization (Steinbock, 2007). The question researchers, funders, politicians and citizens are asking is when does the human life begin? Furthermore, ethicists are looking to determine what makes something human the rights that it deserves.
One peer reviewed art...
... middle of paper ...
...tarianism, Kantianism and situation ethics. Killing innocent embryos in the name of medicine could benefit the greater good but the premise of killing the beginning of a human life is morally borderline.
Works Cited
Hollinger, D. P. (2001, 11 15). Stem Cells & Our Moral Culture. Retrieved from The Center For Bioethics & Human Dignity: http://cbhd.org/content/stem-cells-our-moral-culture
Saeed, H., & Iqtedar, M. (2013, September). Stem Cell Function and Maintenance- Ends that Matter: Role of Telomeres and Telomerase. Department of Bio-Technology & Microbiology, Lahore College for Woman University, 38(3), 641-649.
Smith, W. J. (2011, December). Building a Bridge Over Troubled Stem Cell Waters. Center for Bioethics and Culture, 11(12), 6-9.
Steinbock, B. (2007). The Science, Policy, and Ethics of Stem Cell Research. Reproductive Biomedicine Online, 14(1), 130-136.
Waskey, Andrew J. “Moral Status of Embryo.” Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research. Ed. Clive N. Svendsen, and Allison D. Ebert. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2008. 347-52. SAGE knowledge. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
Stem cell research is a heavily debated topic that can stir trouble in even the tightest of Thanksgiving tables. The use cells found in the cells of embryos to replicate dead or dying cells is a truly baffling thought. To many, stem cell research has the potential to be Holy Grail of modern medicine. To many others, it is ultimately an unethical concept regardless of its capabilities. Due to how divided people are on the topic of stem cell research, its legality and acceptance are different everywhere. According to Utilitarianism, stem cell research should be permitted due to the amount of people it can save, however according to the Divine Command of Christianity, the means of collecting said stem cells are immoral and forbidden.
Walters, LeRoy. “Human embryonic stem cell research: an intercultural perspective.” Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 14.1 (2004): 3-38.
...y, J. (2014). Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Can Meet Ethical Guidelines. In L. I. Gerdes
Bonnie Steinbock, in her paper entitled, “What Does “Respect for Embryos” mean in the Context of Stem Cell Research?” argues that using human embryos for embryonic stem cell research is immoral and illicit. She forms her argument on the “consideration of the human subject from the moment of conception” (Bioethics 592). The author supports her argument with five reasons as to why using human embryos for ES research. She explains that the moment the gametes unite, an embryo with human rights is formed. Building off of her first statement, the author explains that it is immoral and illicit to intervene in the development of an individual with rights in a non-favorable way, because
" An Overview of Stem Cell Research | The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity."
...ns of a morally questionable nature. It is necessary that our practices remain ethical and that we uphold the value of a human life, as this is the cornerstone of human society. Embryonic stem cell research is one such operation that forces scientists, policy makers, and the larger society to define what constitutes a human life and to find an answer to the crucial question: Is it morally acceptable to violate the rights of a human life for the for the sake of medical progress?
Holm, Soren. The Ethical Case Against Stem Cell Research. Vol. 1. The Stem Cell Controversy. Ser. 15. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2006. 1 vols.
As technology stem cell research intensifies, so does the controversy about whether such scientific progress is moral. In the past millennium to today the present stem cell research has become a controversial topic across the world. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have unique regenerative abilities, allowing them to divide into specialized cell types. Understanding why these processes occur is essential to curing disease. Critics of stem cell research argue that the extraction of embryonic stem cells involves destroying an early embryo, equating the act of killing a human. Although stem cell research is a highly controversial topic, it is compulsory to continue stem cell research within ethical boundaries for the benefit of mankind.
... S. Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate: The Scientific, Religious, Ethical, and Political Issues. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. Print.
Snow, Nancy. “Stem Cell Research New Frontiers in Sciences and Ethics”. Houston Community College Library. 2004. Print. 10 Nov 2011.
The controversy behind the stem cell research has been raging since the first experiments. The United States Congress banned federally supported human-embryo research in 1996, forcing scientists to solicit funding from private sponsors. Since stem cells are harvested from aborted fetuses, the ethical issues surrounding abortion act as a stigma in the public’s view. However, in September of last year, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission concluded that harvesting stem cells from discarded embryos is morally akin to removing organs from dead people for transplant. Stem cell research continues to be very controversial, yet prevalent in the scientific community.
Despite the unquestionable gains that embryonic stem cell research has brought and may continue to bring to medicine, I believe the ethics and morality of stem cell research is questionable. Embryonic stem cells are taken from a human embryo, which is “the developing organism from the time of fertilization” (conception) “until the end of the eighth week of gestation, when it becomes known as a fetus” (National Institutes of Health). These embryos are fertilized in an in vitro fertilization clinic, and their stem cells are extracted from their inner cell mass of the blastocyst after three to four days. They must be extracted because after five days of the embryonic cell’s development, these undifferentiated stem cells no longer exist. In the process of extracting these cells from the infer mass of the blastocyst, the human embryo is destroyed. Since human life begins at the moment of conception (when sperm fertilizes an egg), the destruction of the human embryo is the destruction of a human being. Killing a human being and disregarding the irrevocable value of human life is morally wrong; therefore, embryonic stem cell research is not morally acceptable. I will be arguing this point throughout the paper, taking into consideration counterarguments and building upon others that are also against embryonic stem cell research.
Stem cell research is becoming an issue that is one of the most profound of our time. The issue of research involving stem cells derived from human embryos is increasingly the subject of dinner table discussions and a national debate. The issue is confronted every day in laboratories as scientists ponder the ethical consequences of their work. It is agonized over by parents and many couples as they try to have children, or save children already born. The issue is debated within the church, with people of different faiths, even many of the same faith coming to different conclusions. Many people are finding that the more they know about stem cell research, the less certain they are about the right ethical and moral conclusions.
Monroe, Kristen, et al., eds. Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate: The Scientific, Religious, Ethical and Political Issues. Los Angeles/Berkley: University of California Press, 2008. Print