Benefiting from 'evil': An incipient moral problem in human stem cell research

Bioethics

Volumn 16, Issue 6, 2002, Pages 544-556

  Green, Ronald M ^a  

^a DARTMOUTH COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADOPTION; AWARENESS; CELL LINE; CLONING; EMBRYO CELL; FETUS (ANATOMY); GERMANY; HUMAN; LAW; MEDICAL ETHICS; MEDICAL PRACTICE; MEDICAL RESEARCH; MORALITY; POLICY; RELIGIOUS GROUP; REVIEW; STEM CELL; STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION; THEOLOGY;

EID: 0036837596     PISSN: 02699702     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8519.00310     Document Type: Review

References (25)

1. Some pro-life groups have tried to stimulate embryo adoption, but they have had very limited success, achieving, according to one report, fewer than a dozen adoptions and pregnancies of the tens of thousands of embryos in storage. See Sheryl Gay Stolberg. Clinics Full of Frozen Embryos Offer a New Route to Adoption, New York Times, February 25, 2001, p. A1.
2. In the United States, the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for research destroying a human embryo, defines the 'embryo' as 'any organism ... that is derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis, cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes' - Public Law 104-99, Section 128, January 26, 1996, 110 Stat 34.
3. E.F. Healy. 1942. Moral Guidance. Chicago, IL. Loyola University: 43; D.M. Prammer. 1956. Handbook of Moral Theology. Cork. Mercier: 103; H. Davis. 1959. Charity and Co-Operation. In Moral and Pastoral Theology, 8th ed. London. Sheed and Ward; L.G. Miller. 1967. Scandal. In New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York. McGraw Hill: vol. XII, 1112-1113; R.E. Smith. 1994. The Principle of Cooperation in Catholic Thought. In The Fetal Tissue Issue: Medical and Ethical Aspects. P.J. Cataldo and A.S. Moraczewski, eds. Braintree, MA. Pope John Center: 81-92; A. Fisher. Co-Operation in Evil. Catholic Medical Quarterly 1994; 44: 15.
4. E.F. Healy. 1942. Moral Guidance. Chicago, IL. Loyola University: 43; D.M. Prammer. 1956. Handbook of Moral Theology. Cork. Mercier: 103; H. Davis. 1959. Charity and Co-Operation. In Moral and Pastoral Theology, 8th ed. London. Sheed and Ward; L.G. Miller. 1967. Scandal. In New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York. McGraw Hill: vol. XII, 1112-1113; R.E. Smith. 1994. The Principle of Cooperation in Catholic Thought. In The Fetal Tissue Issue: Medical and Ethical Aspects. P.J. Cataldo and A.S. Moraczewski, eds. Braintree, MA. Pope John Center: 81-92; A. Fisher. Co-Operation in Evil. Catholic Medical Quarterly 1994; 44: 15.
5. E.F. Healy. 1942. Moral Guidance. Chicago, IL. Loyola University: 43; D.M. Prammer. 1956. Handbook of Moral Theology. Cork. Mercier: 103; H. Davis. 1959. Charity and Co-Operation. In Moral and Pastoral Theology, 8th ed. London. Sheed and Ward; L.G. Miller. 1967. Scandal. In New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York. McGraw Hill: vol. XII, 1112-1113; R.E. Smith. 1994. The Principle of Cooperation in Catholic Thought. In The Fetal Tissue Issue: Medical and Ethical Aspects. P.J. Cataldo and A.S. Moraczewski, eds. Braintree, MA. Pope John Center: 81-92; A. Fisher. Co-Operation in Evil. Catholic Medical Quarterly 1994; 44: 15.
6. E.F. Healy. 1942. Moral Guidance. Chicago, IL. Loyola University: 43; D.M. Prammer. 1956. Handbook of Moral Theology. Cork. Mercier: 103; H. Davis. 1959. Charity and Co-Operation. In Moral and Pastoral Theology, 8th ed. London. Sheed and Ward; L.G. Miller. 1967. Scandal. In New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York. McGraw Hill: vol. XII, 1112-1113; R.E. Smith. 1994. The Principle of Cooperation in Catholic Thought. In The Fetal Tissue Issue: Medical and Ethical Aspects. P.J. Cataldo and A.S. Moraczewski, eds. Braintree, MA. Pope John Center: 81-92; A. Fisher. Co-Operation in Evil. Catholic Medical Quarterly 1994; 44: 15.
7. E.F. Healy. 1942. Moral Guidance. Chicago, IL. Loyola University: 43; D.M. Prammer. 1956. Handbook of Moral Theology. Cork. Mercier: 103; H. Davis. 1959. Charity and Co-Operation. In Moral and Pastoral Theology, 8th ed. London. Sheed and Ward; L.G. Miller. 1967. Scandal. In New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York. McGraw Hill: vol. XII, 1112-1113; R.E. Smith. 1994. The Principle of Cooperation in Catholic Thought. In The Fetal Tissue Issue: Medical and Ethical Aspects. P.J. Cataldo and A.S. Moraczewski, eds. Braintree, MA. Pope John Center: 81-92; A. Fisher. Co-Operation in Evil. Catholic Medical Quarterly 1994; 44: 15.
8. E.F. Healy. 1942. Moral Guidance. Chicago, IL. Loyola University: 43; D.M. Prammer. 1956. Handbook of Moral Theology. Cork. Mercier: 103; H. Davis. 1959. Charity and Co-Operation. In Moral and Pastoral Theology, 8th ed. London. Sheed and Ward; L.G. Miller. 1967. Scandal. In New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York. McGraw Hill: vol. XII, 1112-1113; R.E. Smith. 1994. The Principle of Cooperation in Catholic Thought. In The Fetal Tissue Issue: Medical and Ethical Aspects. P.J. Cataldo and A.S. Moraczewski, eds. Braintree, MA. Pope John Center: 81-92; A. Fisher. Co-Operation in Evil. Catholic Medical Quarterly 1994; 44: 15.
9. J. Keenan. Prophylactics, Toleration, and Cooperation: Contemporary Problems and Traditional Principles. International Philosophical Quarterly 1989; 29: 206-20.
10. M.C. Kaveny. Appropriation of Evil: Cooperation's Mirror Image. Theological Studies 2000; 61: 280-313.
11. K. Moe. Should the Nazi Research Data Be Cited? The Hastings Center Report 1984; 14/6:5-7; W.E. Seidelman. In Memoriam: Medicine's Confrontation with Evil. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/6: 5 and Nuremberg Lamentation: For the Forgotten Victims of Medical Science. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1463-7; A.L. Caplan. The Meaning of the Holocaust for Bioethics. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/4: 2-3; S.G. Post. The Echo of Nuremberg: Nazi Data and Ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics 1991; 17: 42-44; V.W. Greene. 1992. Can Scientists Use Information Derived from the Concentration Camps? Ancient Answers to New Questions, and N.L. Segal. 1992. Twin Research at Auschwitz-Birkenau: Implications for the Use of Nazi Data Today. In When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust. Totowa, NJ. Humana Press: 155-70 and 281-99.
12. K. Moe. Should the Nazi Research Data Be Cited? The Hastings Center Report 1984; 14/6:5-7; W.E. Seidelman. In Memoriam: Medicine's Confrontation with Evil. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/6: 5 and Nuremberg Lamentation: For the Forgotten Victims of Medical Science. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1463-7; A.L. Caplan. The Meaning of the Holocaust for Bioethics. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/4: 2-3; S.G. Post. The Echo of Nuremberg: Nazi Data and Ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics 1991; 17: 42-44; V.W. Greene. 1992. Can Scientists Use Information Derived from the Concentration Camps? Ancient Answers to New Questions, and N.L. Segal. 1992. Twin Research at Auschwitz-Birkenau: Implications for the Use of Nazi Data Today. In When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust. Totowa, NJ. Humana Press: 155-70 and 281-99.
13. K. Moe. Should the Nazi Research Data Be Cited? The Hastings Center Report 1984; 14/6:5-7; W.E. Seidelman. In Memoriam: Medicine's Confrontation with Evil. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/6: 5 and Nuremberg Lamentation: For the Forgotten Victims of Medical Science. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1463-7; A.L. Caplan. The Meaning of the Holocaust for Bioethics. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/4: 2-3; S.G. Post. The Echo of Nuremberg: Nazi Data and Ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics 1991; 17: 42-44; V.W. Greene. 1992. Can Scientists Use Information Derived from the Concentration Camps? Ancient Answers to New Questions, and N.L. Segal. 1992. Twin Research at Auschwitz-Birkenau: Implications for the Use of Nazi Data Today. In When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust. Totowa, NJ. Humana Press: 155-70 and 281-99.
14. K. Moe. Should the Nazi Research Data Be Cited? The Hastings Center Report 1984; 14/6:5-7; W.E. Seidelman. In Memoriam: Medicine's Confrontation with Evil. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/6: 5 and Nuremberg Lamentation: For the Forgotten Victims of Medical Science. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1463-7; A.L. Caplan. The Meaning of the Holocaust for Bioethics. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/4: 2-3; S.G. Post. The Echo of Nuremberg: Nazi Data and Ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics 1991; 17: 42-44; V.W. Greene. 1992. Can Scientists Use Information Derived from the Concentration Camps? Ancient Answers to New Questions, and N.L. Segal. 1992. Twin Research at Auschwitz-Birkenau: Implications for the Use of Nazi Data Today. In When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust. Totowa, NJ. Humana Press: 155-70 and 281-99.
15. K. Moe. Should the Nazi Research Data Be Cited? The Hastings Center Report 1984; 14/6:5-7; W.E. Seidelman. In Memoriam: Medicine's Confrontation with Evil. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/6: 5 and Nuremberg Lamentation: For the Forgotten Victims of Medical Science. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1463-7; A.L. Caplan. The Meaning of the Holocaust for Bioethics. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/4: 2-3; S.G. Post. The Echo of Nuremberg: Nazi Data and Ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics 1991; 17: 42-44; V.W. Greene. 1992. Can Scientists Use Information Derived from the Concentration Camps? Ancient Answers to New Questions, and N.L. Segal. 1992. Twin Research at Auschwitz-Birkenau: Implications for the Use of Nazi Data Today. In When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust. Totowa, NJ. Humana Press: 155-70 and 281-99.
16. K. Moe. Should the Nazi Research Data Be Cited? The Hastings Center Report 1984; 14/6:5-7; W.E. Seidelman. In Memoriam: Medicine's Confrontation with Evil. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/6: 5 and Nuremberg Lamentation: For the Forgotten Victims of Medical Science. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1463-7; A.L. Caplan. The Meaning of the Holocaust for Bioethics. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/4: 2-3; S.G. Post. The Echo of Nuremberg: Nazi Data and Ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics 1991; 17: 42-44; V.W. Greene. 1992. Can Scientists Use Information Derived from the Concentration Camps? Ancient Answers to New Questions, and N.L. Segal. 1992. Twin Research at Auschwitz-Birkenau: Implications for the Use of Nazi Data Today. In When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust. Totowa, NJ. Humana Press: 155-70 and 281-99.
17. K. Moe. Should the Nazi Research Data Be Cited? The Hastings Center Report 1984; 14/6:5-7; W.E. Seidelman. In Memoriam: Medicine's Confrontation with Evil. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/6: 5 and Nuremberg Lamentation: For the Forgotten Victims of Medical Science. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1463-7; A.L. Caplan. The Meaning of the Holocaust for Bioethics. The Hastings Center Report 1989; 19/4: 2-3; S.G. Post. The Echo of Nuremberg: Nazi Data and Ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics 1991; 17: 42-44; V.W. Greene. 1992. Can Scientists Use Information Derived from the Concentration Camps? Ancient Answers to New Questions, and N.L. Segal. 1992. Twin Research at Auschwitz-Birkenau: Implications for the Use of Nazi Data Today. In When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust. Totowa, NJ. Humana Press: 155-70 and 281-99.
18. For a review of the background of this controversy, see F.B. Charatan. Anatomy Textbook has Nazi Origins. British Medical Journal 1996; 313: 1422.
19. R.P. Lanza, A.L. Caplan, L.M. Silver, J.B. Cibelli, M.D. West, and R.M. Green. The Ethical Validity of Using Nuclear Transfer in Human Transplantation. JAMA 2000; 284: 3175-79.
20. For a sustained defense of this position, see R.M. Green, B. Gert, and K.D. Clouser. The Method of Public Morality versus the Method of Principlism. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 1993; 18: 479-491.
21. Something like this practice consideration plays a role in the concern with 'moral scandal' found in Catholic moral theology. Like the negative implications of a practice, however, scandal poses only a prima facie consideration against a form of conduct that must be weighed against the possible benefits of that conduct. See L.G. Miller, op. cit. note 2, pp. 1112-1113.
22. Kaveny, op. cit. note 4, p. 289.
23. President's Statement on Funding Stem Cell Research. New York Times, August 10, 2001, p. A 16.
24. Y.M. Ibrahim. Ethical Furor Erupts in Britain: Should Embryos Be Destroyed? New York Times, August 1, 1996, Late Edition, p. A1.
25. J. C. Fletcher. 2000. Deliberating Incrementally on Human Pluripotential Stem Cell (PSC) Research. In National Bioethics Advisory Commission, Ethical Issues in Human Stem Cell Research, Vol. II, Commissioned Papers. Rockville, MD: E-17.