Compromise and moral complicity in the embryonic stem cell debate

Philosophical Reflections on Medical Ethics

Volumn , Issue , 2005, Pages 88-108

  Devolder, Katrien ^a   Harris, John ^b  

^a GHENT UNIVERSITY   (Belgium)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 85015071925     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.1057/9780230273931     Document Type: Chapter

References (85)

1. R. Lorenza (2004) 'Italian Minister in Trouble', The Scientist (September) 9.
2. A. A. Kiessling and S. Anderson (2003) Human Embryonic Stem Cells. An Introduction to the Science and Therapeutic Potential (Boston, Massachusetts:Jones and Bartlett Publishers), p. 164;
3. D. Solter, D. Beyleveld, M. B. Friele et al. (2003) Embryo Research in Pluralistic Europe (Berlin and Heidelberg:Springer Verlag).
4. J. A. Thomson, et al. (1998) 'Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts', Science, 282(5391), pp. 1145-7.
5. R. A. Pedersen (1999) 'Embryonic Cells for Medicine', Scientific American 1280(4), pp. 68-73;
6. B. E. Reubinoff et al. (2000) 'Embryonic Stem Cell Lines from Human Blastocysts: Somatic Differentiation in vitro', Nature Biotechnology, 18, pp. 399-404.
7. R. E. Schwartz et al. (2002) 'Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells from Bone Marrow Differentiate into Functional Hepatocyte-like Cells', Journal of Clinical Investigations, 109(10), pp. 1291-302;
8. C. M. Verfaillie (2002) 'Adult Stem Cells: Assessing the Case for Pluripotency', Trends in Cell Biology, 12(11), pp. 502-8.
9. G. Kogler et al. (2004) 'A New Human Somatic Stem Cell from Placental Cord Blood with Intrinsic Pluripotent Differentiation Potential', Journal of Exploratory Medicine, 200(2), pp. 123-35.
10. F. D. Camargo, S. M. Chambers and M. A. Goodell (2004) 'Stem Cell Plasticity: From Transdifferentiation to Macrophage Fusion', Cell Proliferation, 37, pp. 55-65;
11. C. Mummery (2004) 'Stem Cell Research: Immortality or a Healthy Old Age?', European Journal of Endocrinology, 151 (November), Suppl. 3, pp. U7-U12.
12. See, for example, J. R. Meyer, a priest of the Opus Dei Prelature, who says that 'the medical benefits which might accrue for some patients do not outweigh the grave consequences for the embryo that is killed in order to produce ES cells for medical therapy'.
13. J. R. Meyer (2000) 'Human Embryonic Stem Cell and Respect for Life', Journal of Medical Ethics, 26, pp. 166-70.
14. Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation, Replies to certain Questions of the Day, 22 February 1987. At: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19870222_respect-for-human-life_en.html.
15. And by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on Bill C-13 An Act Respecting Assisted Human Reproduction. 19 January 2003. At: http://www.cccb.ca/PublicStatements.htm?CD=343&ID=1258.
16. S. Holm (2002) 'Going to the Roots of the Stem Cell Controversy', Bioethics, 16(6), pp. 493-507.
17. Health Council of the Netherlands (2002) Stem Cells for Tissue Repair: Research on Therapy (The Hague, 27 June), p. 46.
18. G. Pennings and A. Van Steirteghem (2004) 'The Subsidiarity Principle in the Context of Embryonic Stem Cell Research', Human Reproduction, 19(5) (May), pp. 1060-4.
19. The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies to the European Commission (2000) Adoption of an Opinion on Ethical Aspects of Human Stem Cell Research and Use (Paris: European Commission, 14 November) (Opinion N° 15), p. 14.
20. National Bioethics Advisory Commission (1999) Ethical Issues in Human Stem Cell Research (Rockville, MD: NBAC, September), p. 53.
21. German Bundestag. Act ensuring protection of embryos in connection with the importation and utilization of human embryonic stem cells. Stem Cell Act, s. 5. Berlin, 28 June 2002.
22. Holm, 'Going to the Roots of the Stem Cell Controversy';
23. P. A. Roche and M. A. Grodin (2000) 'The Ethical Challenge of Stem Cell Research', Women's Health Issues, 10(3), pp. 136-9.
24. R. Lovell-Badge (2001) 'The Future for Stem Cell Research', Nature, 414(6859), pp. 88-91;
25. C. R. Cogle et al. (2003) 'An Overview of Stem Cell Research and Regulatory Issues', Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 78, pp. 993-1003.
26. B. E. Edwards, J. D. Gearhart and E. E. Wallach (2000) 'The Human Pluripotent Stem Cell: Impact on Medicine and Society', Fertility and Sterility, 74(1), pp. 1-7.
27. In the curious case of the USA.
28. R. Doerflinger (1999) 'The Ethics of Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Research:a Catholic Viewpoint', Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 9(2), pp. 137-50;
29. W. Friend (2003) 'Catholic Perspectives and Stem-cell Research and Use', Origins, 32(41), pp. 682-6;
30. J. Oakley (2002) 'Democracy, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, and the Roman Catholic Church', Journal of Medical Ethics, 28(4), p. 228.
31. These terms are used in R. M. Green (2001) The Human Embryo Research Debates: Bioethics in the Vortex of Controversy (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press).
32. For an overview of these legislations, see C. M. Romeo-Casabona (2002) 'Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Therapy: the Need for a Common European Legal Framework', Bioethics, 16(6), pp. 557-67.
33. R. Lorenzi (2003) 'Italy Approves Embryo Law', The Scientist, 12 December.
34. http://www.austria.gv.at/2004/4/18/stem_cell_research.pdf.
35. The Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board. Biotechnology Act 1994. At:http://www.bion.no/lov/lov-19940805-056-eng.pdf.
36. K. Wheat and K. Matthews, World Human Cloning Policies. http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~neal/stemcell/World.pdf.
37. G. Pennings (2002) 'Reproductive Tourism as Moral Pluralism in Motion', Journal of Medical Ethics, 28, pp. 337-41
38. (2004) 'Legal Harmonization and Reproductive Tourism in Europe', Human Reproduction, 19(12), pp. 2689-94.
39. S. Arie (2004) 'Italians Force Referendum on Fertility Law', Guardian Unlimited, 1 October. At: http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,1317232,00.html.
40. A. Haverty (2003) 'Ireland Divided on Stem Cells', The Scientist, 26 November.
41. See, for example, the National Institutes of Health (2000) Guidelines for Research Using Human Pluripotent Stem Cells (Bethesda, MD: NIH).
42. German National Ethics Council (2001) Opinion on the Import of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (Berlin: German National Ethics Council) (under the heading 'specific arguments in favour of the import of human embryonic stem cells').
43. Letter from HHS Gen. Counsel Harriet Rabb to Harold Varmus, at that time Director of the NIH on 'Federal Funding for Research Involving Human Pluripotent Stem Cells', 15 January 1999.
44. G. J. Boer (1999) 'Ethical Issues in Neurografting of Human Embryonic Cells', Theoretical Medical Bioethics, 20(5), pp. 461-75.
45. G. Pennings (2003) 'Ethical Issues Regarding Embryonic Stem Cells', in Lectures in Medicine:Embryonic Stem Cells, organised by the Belgian Faculties of Medicine (Brussels: AZ-VUB, 6 February).
46. A. F. Shorr (1994) 'Abortion and Fetal Tissue Research - Some Ethical Concerns', Fetal Diagnosis Therapy, 9(3), pp. 196-203;
47. J. C. Rankin (1990) 'The Fetal Tissue Debate on Complicity', Hastings Centre Reports, 20(2), p. 50.
48. R. K. Zimmerman (2004) 'Ethical Analyses of Vaccines Grown in Human Cell Strains Derived from Abortion: Arguments and Internet Search', Vaccine, 22, pp. 4238-44.
49. American Association for the Advancement of Science and Institute for Civil Society (1999) Stem Cell Research and Applications: Monitoring the Frontiers of Biomedical Research (Washington, DC, November), p. 9.
50. Green, The Human Embryo Research Debates.
51. German National Ethics Council (2001).
52. Green, The Human Embryo Research Debates, p. 554.
53. Green, The Human Embryo Research Debates, p. 552.
54. R. A. Charo (2001) 'Bush's Stem Cell Compromise: a Few Mirrors?' Hastings Centre Reports, 31(6), pp. 6-7.
55. See, for example, Option A and B of the German National Ethics Council (2001).
56. A. M. Capron (1999) 'Good Intentions', Hastings Centre Reports, 29(2), pp. 26-7.
57. The White House (2001) Office of the Press Secretary. Radio address by the President to the nation. Bush Ranch, Texas. 11 August. At http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010809-2.html.
58. For the eligibility criteria, see http://stemcells.nih.gov/registry/eligibilityCriteria.asp.
59. Bush, radio address by the President (2001).
60. 'Provided that their import has no causal effect on the production of embryonic stem cells abroad, the use of embryos for the production of stem cell lines cannot be deemed to be the responsibility of the research workers or of the German State authority.' German National Ethics Council (2001).
61. AAAS and ICS, Stem Cell Research and Applications, p. 18.
62. US Catholic Bishops. Statement on Cloning and Embryo Research. 13 August 2001. At http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/bioethic/fact801.htm.
63. H. Gottweis (2002) 'Stem Cell Policies in the United States and in Germany:Between Bioethics and Regulation', Policy Studies Journal, 30(4), pp. 444-69.
64. M. Castle et al. (2003) 'Letter to President Bush on Stem cell Research from 11 House Republicans', 15 May. Http://www.aaas.org/spp/cstc/briefs/stemcells/stemhsltr.shtml.
65. R. Faden and J. Gearhart (2004) 'Facts on Stem Cells', Washington Post, 23 August, p. A15.
66. R. Weiss (2004) 'Approved Stem Cells' Potential Questioned', Washington Post, 29 October, p. A03.
67. A. M. Capron (2002) 'Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Ethics and Politics in Science Policy', in Shui Chuen Lee (ed.) Proceedings of the Third International Conference of Bioethics (University of Chungli, R.O.C. Taiwan, June), p. V-12.
68. J. Harris (2003) 'Stem Cells, Sex and Procreation', Cambridge Quarterly of Health Ethics, 12(4), pp. 353-72.
69. see K. Devolder (in press 2005), 'Creating and Sacrificing Embryos for Stem Cells', JME.
70. Solter et al., Embryo Research in Pluralistic Europe.
71. See John Harris (2003) 'Stem Cells, Sex and Procreation', Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 12(4) (Fall), pp. 353-72.
72. On 19 February 2004 the President of the Republic of Italy promulgated Law 40/2004 'Norms on the matter of medically assisted procreation' [Legge 40 Norme in materia di procreazione medicalmente assistita] (Republic of Italy, 2004). http://staminali.aduc.it/php_leggi.html.
73. A. Caplan (ed.) (1992) When Medicine Went Mad: Bioethics and the Holocaust. (Totowa, NJ: Humana Press);
74. P. Hoedeman (1991) Hitler or Hippocrates:Medical Experiments and Euthanasia in the Third Reich (Sussex: Book Guild);
75. B. Muller-Hill (1988) Murderous Science: Elimination by Scientific Selection of Jews, Gypsies, and Others in Germany, 1933-1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press);
76. R. J. Lifton (1986) The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide (New York: Basic Books).
77. In this section we have benefited from discussions with Dan Wikler. See also John Harris (2003) 'Stem Cells, Sex and Procreation', Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 12(4) (Fall), pp. 353-72;
78. (2004) 'The Great Debates - Julian Savulescu and John Harris', Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 13(1) (January), pp. 68-96.
79. John Harris's contributions to this debate: 'Sexual Reproduction is a Survival Lottery', pp. 75-90
80. Julian Savulescu and John Harris (2004) 'The Creation Lottery: Final Lessons from Natural Reproduction: Why Those Who Accept Natural Reproduction Should Accept Cloning and Other Frankenstein Reproductive Technologies', Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 13(1) (January), pp. 90-6.
81. See J. Harris (2003) 'Stem Cells, Sex and Procreation', Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 12(4) (Fall), pp. 353-72.
82. J. Harris (1992) Wonderwoman & Superman: The Ethics of Human Biotechnology (Oxford: Oxford University Press), p. 47.
83. This point has been developed in some detail in J. Harris (2002) 'The Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells in Research and Therapy', in Justine C. Burley and John Harris (eds.) A Companion to Genethics: Philosophy and the Genetic Revolution (Oxford: Basil Blackwell), pp. 158-75;
84. J. Harris (in press) 'Stem Cells, Sex and Procreation', Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics.
85. J. R. Richards (1982) made this point well in The Sceptical Feminist (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books).