In the United States, the question of when human life begins has been highly controversial and closely linked to debates over abortion. However, human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research is ethically and politically controversial because it involves the destruction of human embryos. Pluripotent stem cell lines can be derived from the inner cell mass of the 5- to 7-d-old blastocyst. Table 1 1 summarizes the ethical issues that arise at different phases of stem cell research. With any hSC research, however, there are difficult dilemmas, including consent to donate materials for hSC research, early clinical trials of hSC therapies, and oversight of hSC research ( 2). The reprogramming of somatic cells to produce induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) avoids the ethical problems specific to embryonic stem cells. Several other methods of deriving stem cells raise fewer ethical concerns.
The derivation of pluripotent stem cell lines from oocytes and embryos is fraught with disputes regarding the onset of human personhood and human reproduction. However, human stem cell (hSC) research also raises sharp ethical and political controversies. Scientists plan to differentiate pluripotent cells into specialized cells that could be used for transplantation. Pluripotent stem cells perpetuate themselves in culture and can differentiate into all types of specialized cells. STEM CELL RESEARCH offers great promise for understanding basic mechanisms of human development and differentiation, as well as the hope for new treatments for diseases such as diabetes, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, and myocardial infarction ( 1). This article provides a critical analysis of these issues and how they are addressed in current policies. These ethical and policy issues need to be discussed along with scientific challenges to ensure that stem cell research is carried out in an ethically appropriate manner. In any hSC research, however, difficult dilemmas arise regarding sensitive downstream research, consent to donate materials for hSC research, early clinical trials of hSC therapies, and oversight of hSC research. The reprogramming of somatic cells to produce induced pluripotent stem cells avoids the ethical problems specific to embryonic stem cell research. The derivation of pluripotent stem cell lines from oocytes and embryos is fraught with disputes about the onset of human personhood.
Stem cell research offers great promise for understanding basic mechanisms of human development and differentiation, as well as the hope for new treatments for diseases such as diabetes, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, and myocardial infarction.
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