Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Totipotent
Cells
Blastocyst
Fetus
Primordial
Germ Cells
Inner
Cell Mass
Cultured Pluripotent
Stem Cells
FIGURE 2.1 Using the inner cell mass to form pluripotent stem cells. Courtesy of http://www.nih.gov/news/
stemcell/primer.htm.
When a cell group that has been determined is transplanted, it will not assimilate with the other
cells but will grow into cells that comprised the original organ it was destined to become.
Since the process of obtaining embryonic stem cells (Figure 2.1) destroys the embryo, the
following questions arise:
1. Is the embryo a living human being, entitled to all of the same rights that a human at any
other age would be granted? Discuss the answer to this question from a Utilitarian and Kantian
point of view.
2. Should any research that is potentially beneficial to the well-being of mankind be pursued?
In 2009, President Obama passed groundbreaking legislation entitled “Executive Order
13505—Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells.”
The order calls for a review of NIH (National Institute of Health) guidelines for stem cell
research and, more importantly, removes the requirement of President Action to approve
NIH-funded stem cell investigations.
3. Should the federal government support (i.e., use tax dollars to fund) such research? Or, in
contrast, should the government be allowed to interfere?
In the practice of medicine, moral dilemmas are certainly not new. They have been
present throughout medical history. As a result, over the years there have been efforts to
provide a set of guidelines for those responsible for patient care. These efforts have resulted
in the development of specific codes of professional conduct. Let us examine some of these
codes or guidelines.
For the medical profession, the World Medical Association adopted a version of the
Hippocratic Oath entitled the
Geneva Convention Code of Medical Ethics
in 1949. This declara-
tion contains the following statements:
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