Stem Cell Research and Ethical Thinking
There has been a lot of debate surrounding embryonic stem cell research for quite a long time. The progress of stem cell science has slowed down because of the controversy. The main issues that have tormented the progress of stem cell research have been addressed and the ethical fault lines that will probably continue have been identified in the article “Update: Stem-Cell Research” ("Update: Stem-cell research," 2007). Although the restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research have been removed by President Obama, this article takes a look back and explores the factors that led President Bush to “ban all federal funding for any other stem-cell research” ("Update: Stem-cell research," 2007) and whether his decision to ban further stem-cell research was on ethical grounds. Altogether, the factors that have been mentioned in the article show how complicated the path of innovation can be. This article illustrates the fact that stem cell research has had to face and overcome numerous ethical challenges in the political and social world.
Why is Embryonic Stem Cell Research Controversial?
This article sheds light on the fact embryonic stem cell research has been surrounded by controversy ever since its inception. The article points to the destruction of early embryos, without which pluripotent embryonic stem cells cannot be derived or obtained (Brock, 2010), as the reason for all the fierce controversy over the ethical acceptability of this research. Moreover, this draws stem cell science into the highly divisive, ongoing wars over the culture of life and abortion that have been at the center of the stage in American politics and law over the past thirty years 4. Apparently, people have opposed stem cell research because they believe that a fertilized embryo in a laboratory is a new individual or human being with every right, and the legal and moral status of people who are fully born. Just like the abortion of fetuses, they consider the destruction of embryos as murder, where the weakest is sacrificed for someone else’s interests (George & Tollefsen, 2008).
Did Funding Issues Lead to the Banning Of Stem-Cell Research?
Perhaps the most valid perspective of this article is the fact that over the past decade, federal funding policy has been another major cause of the battles over embryonic stem cell research. Apparently, there has been so much debate because of federal funding policy because it is vital or embryonic stem cell research. This sort of an upstream research cannot draw adequate private investment. Private investors have no incentive in investing for the production of this knowledge because they cannot capture the benefits of such research for themselves alone. Thus, the burden of doing so falls on the government, just like the public goods such as highways and national defense. It might seem like Bush’s approach to ban further stem cell research twice is to prevent the destruction of embryos or to ban the creation of stem cells for research to show respect for the early stages of human life. No doubt, the federal funding spigot would be plugged because of ethical controversy, but it is apparent that the research was banned on financial grounds.
Personal Perspective: Is Embryonic Stem Cell Research Ethical?
In light of Barack Obama’s shifting the federal funding issue surrounding embryonic stem cell research in another direction after the 2008 election, I feel that there is nothing ethically wrong in carrying on with embryonic stem cell research especially considering the fact that it could lead to medical treatments in order to relieve the suffering from many living human beings. As Barrack Obama had said in his speech that a false choice was made by the government when stem cell research was banned based on controversies between moral values and sound science. Like Obama, I think that these two are consistent. Even when thinking from an ethical perspective, caring for each other and working to ease the suffering of fellow human beings is our responsibility. Today, the United States certain has the capacity to pursue this research, while being responsible about conscience and humanity. So if a majority of Americans can support this research, I don’t find anything unethical about embryonic stem cell research ("Executive order -," 2009).
References
Brock, D. W. (2010). Creating embryos for use in stem cell research. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 38(2)
Executive order - - - - - - - removing barriers to responsible scientific research involving human stem cells. (2009, Mar 11). Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/removing-barriers-responsible-scientific-research-involving-human-stem-cells
George, R. P., & Tollefsen, C. (2008). Embryo: A defense of human life. New York: Doubleday.
Update: Stem-cell research. (2007, Dec 3). Retrieved from http://www.2facts.com/article/i1000120
