The Ethics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

The Ethics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Author: Katrien Devolder
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2015-01-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191036234

Embryonic stem cell research holds unique promise for developing therapies for currently incurable diseases and conditions, and for important biomedical research. However, the process through which embryonic stem cells are obtained involves the destruction of early human embryos. Katrien Devolder focuses on the tension between the popular view that an embryo should never be deliberately harmed or destroyed, and the view that embryonic stem cell research, because of its enormous promise, must go forward. She provides an in-depth ethical analysis of the major philosophical and political attempts to resolve this tension. One such attempt involves the development of a middle ground position, which accepts only types or aspects of embryonic stem cell research deemed compatible with the view that the embryo has a significant moral status. An example is the position that it can be permissible to derive stem cells from embryos left over from in vitro fertilisation but not from embryos created for research. Others have advocated a technical solution. Several techniques have been proposed for deriving embryonic stem cells, or their functional equivalents, without harming embryos. An example is the induced pluripotent stem cell technique. Through highlighting inconsistencies in the arguments for these positions, Devolder argues that the central tension in the embryonic stem cell debate remains unresolved. This conclusion has important implications for the stem cell debate, as well as for policies inspired by this debate.

The Stem Cell Dilemma

The Stem Cell Dilemma
Author: Leo Furcht
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2008
Genre: Medical
ISBN:

Traces findings in biomedical research about the potential for stem cells to enable revolutionary cures, offering insight into the controversy surrounding stem-cell research and its related international biological arms race.

Bioethics and the Future of Stem Cell Research

Bioethics and the Future of Stem Cell Research
Author: Insoo Hyun
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2013-06-24
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0521768691

This book provides a sophisticated yet accessible account of emerging trends in stem cell research and their accompanying ethical issues.

Stem Cell Now

Stem Cell Now
Author: Christopher Thomas Scott
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2006-08-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780452287853

While many believe stem cell research holds the key to curing a wide range of ailments, others see this research as opening a Pandora’s box that will devalue human life. In Stem Cell Now, Christopher Scott—executive director of Stanford University’s Stem Cells and Society Program—lays out the scientific and ethical issues surrounding this national dilemma. Scott guides readers through the latest advances in stem cell research in clear, accessible language, telling the stories of the researchers who are exploring the potential of stem cells to cure cancer, grow new organs, and repair the immune system. He also leads readers through a discussion of the question at the heart of the explosive ethical debate: How, as a society, do we balance our responsibilities to the unborn and the sick? Stem Cell Now is essential reading for anyone who wants to build an informed opinion on stem cell research.

Final Report of the National Academies' Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee and 2010 Amendments to the National Academies' Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Final Report of the National Academies' Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee and 2010 Amendments to the National Academies' Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 59
Release: 2010-07-13
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309158354

In 2005, the National Academies released the book, Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, which offered a common set of ethical standards for a field that, due to the absence of comprehensive federal funding, was lacking national standards for research. In order to keep the Guidelines up to date, given the rapid pace of scientific and policy developments in the field of stem cell research, the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee was established in 2006 with support from The Ellison Medical Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. As it did in 2007 and 2008, the Committee identified issues that warranted revision, and this book addresses those issues in a third and final set of amendments. Specifically, this book sets out an updated version of the National Academies' Guidelines, one that takes into account the new, expanded role of the NIH in overseeing hES cell research. It also identifies those avenues of continuing National Academies' involvement deemed most valuable by the research community and other significant stakeholders.

The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate

The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate
Author: Suzanne Holland
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2001
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780262582087

Discusses the ethical issues involved in the use of human embryonic stem cells in regenerative medicine.

The ethical issues in human stem cell research

The ethical issues in human stem cell research
Author:
Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2001
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9789289306539

Includes the introductory talks and a summary of the general discussion of a workshop arranged by the Nordic Committee on Bioethics and held Oct. 10-11, 2000--Introd.

Handbook of Risk Theory

Handbook of Risk Theory
Author: Rafaela Hillerbrand
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 1209
Release: 2012-01-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400714335

Risk has become one of the main topics in fields as diverse as engineering, medicine and economics, and it is also studied by social scientists, psychologists and legal scholars. But the topic of risk also leads to more fundamental questions such as: What is risk? What can decision theory contribute to the analysis of risk? What does the human perception of risk mean for society? How should we judge whether a risk is morally acceptable or not? Over the last couple of decades questions like these have attracted interest from philosophers and other scholars into risk theory. This handbook provides for an overview into key topics in a major new field of research. It addresses a wide range of topics, ranging from decision theory, risk perception to ethics and social implications of risk, and it also addresses specific case studies. It aims to promote communication and information among all those who are interested in theoetical issues concerning risk and uncertainty. This handbook brings together internationally leading philosophers and scholars from other disciplines who work on risk theory. The contributions are accessibly written and highly relevant to issues that are studied by risk scholars. We hope that the Handbook of Risk Theory will be a helpful starting point for all risk scholars who are interested in broadening and deepening their current perspectives.

Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Author: Arlene Chiu
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 488
Release: 2003-08
Genre: Science
ISBN:

A discussion of all the key issues in the use of human pluripotent stem cells for treating degenerative diseases or for replacing tissues lost from trauma. On the practical side, the topics range from the problems of deriving human embryonic stem cells and driving their differentiation along specific lineages, regulating their development into mature cells, and bringing stem cell therapy to clinical trials. Regulatory issues are addressed in discussions of the ethical debate surrounding the derivation of human embryonic stem cells and the current policies governing their use in the United States and abroad, including the rules and conditions regulating federal funding and questions of intellectual property.