BIOMEDICAL ETHICS REVIEWS

Transcription

1 BIOMEDICAL ETHICS REVIEWS Edited by James M. Humber and Robert F. Almeder Board of Editors William Bechtel University of California, San Diego San Diego, CA Kurt Hirschhorn The Mount Sinai Medical Center New York, NY Richard T. Hull State Univ. of New York, Buffalo Amherst, New York Thomas H. Murray President, The Hastings Center, Garrison, NY James Muyskens University System of Georgia Atlanta, GA James Rachels University of Alabama, Birmingham Birmingham, AL George Rainbolt Georgia State University Atlanta, GA Richard Wasserstrom University of California Santa Cruz, CA

2 BIOMEDICAL ETHICS REVIEWS Edited by James M. Humber and Robert F. Almeder Stem Cell Research 2004 Care of the Aged 2003 Mental Illness and Public Health Care 2002 Privacy and Health Care 2001 Is There a Duty to Die? 2000 Human Cloning 1999 Alternative Medicine and Ethics 1998 What Is Disease? 1997 Reproduction, Technology, and Rights 1996 Allocating Health Care Resources 1995 Physician-Assisted Death 1994 Bioethics and the Military 1992 Bioethics and the Fetus 1991 Biomedical Ethics Reviews 1990 Should the U.S. Adopt a National Health Insurance Plan? Are the NIH Guidelines Adequate for the Care and Protection of Laboratory Animals? Biomedical Ethics Reviews 1989 Should Abnormal Fetuses Be Brought to Term for the Sole Purpose of Providing Infant Transplant Organs? Should Human Death Be Taken to Occur When Persons Permanently Lose Consciousness? Aids and Ethics 1988 Biomedical Ethics Reviews 1987 Prescribing Drugs for the Aged and Dying Animals as a Source of Human Transplant Organs The Nurse s Role: Rights and Responsibilities Quantitative Risk Assessment: The Practitioner s Viewpoint 1986 Biomedical Ethics Reviews 1985 Buying and Selling of Human Organs Sex Preselection Medical Decisionmaking Under Uncertainty Concepts of Health and Disease Biomedical Ethics Reviews 1984 Public Policy and Research with Human Subjects The Right to Health Care in a Democratic Society Genetic Screening Occupational Health The Ethics of Fetal Research and Therapy Biomedical Ethics Reviews 1983 Euthanasia Surrogate Gestation The Distribution of Health Care The Involuntary Commitment and Treatment of Mentally Ill Persons Patenting New Life Forms

3 BIOMEDICAL E T H I C S REVIEWS STEM CELL RESEARCH Edited by James M. Humber and Robert F. Almeder Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

4 2004 by Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Humana Press Inc. in 2004 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 All rights in any form whatsoever reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise) without written permission from the publisher. All papers, comments, opinions, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This publication is printed on acid-free paper. ANSI Z (American National Standards Institute) Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Production Editor: Wendy S. Kopf Cover design by Patricia F. Cleary. Photocopy Authorization Policy: Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, provided that the base fee of US $25.00 per copy, is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center at 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA For those organizations that have been granted a photocopy license from the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged and is acceptable to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. The fee code for users of the Transactional Reporting Service is: [ /04$25.00] The Library of Congress has cataloged this serial title as follows: Stem cell research / edited by James M. Humber and Robert F. Almeder. p. ; cm. -- (Biomedical ethics reviews ; 2004) Includes index. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Stem cells--research--moral and ethical aspects. [DNLM: 1. Embryo Research--ethics. 2. Stem Cells. QS 620 S ] I. Humber, James M. II. Almeder, Robert F. III. Series. QH587.S dc

5 Preface Today, few doubt that human embryonic stem cell research possesses the potential for significantly reducing the suffering of those inflicted with such severely debilitating diseases as Parkinson s disease. It is this potential that has led many to argue that stem cell research should proceed with all deliberate speed and with as few encumbrances as possible. Others demur. These individuals acknowledge that human embryonic stem cell research might lead to beneficial results, but nevertheless insist that research of this sort is of such a nature that it must be considered morally suspect. More specifically, they argue that the morally troublesome character of human embryonic stem cell research provides sufficient grounds for believing that this type of experimentation should be proscribed or, at the very least, severely restricted and regulated. At present, the debate between the pro- and anti-stem cell research factions continues to be waged without showing any signs of imminent resolution. The purpose of Stem Cell Research is to introduce readers to the principal arguments used by both sides in the dispute. When examining the arguments that have been advanced for and against the moral propriety of stem cell research, certain issues have come to be viewed as preeminent. All of the chapters in this text focus on issues of this sort. Among these issues are the following: What reason (or reasons) are there for believing that the materials used in human embryonic stem cell research should (or should not) be included as full members of the moral community and thus be accorded all of the protections ordinarily extended to such individuals? Does the present debate over stem cell research overemphasize the importance of determining the moral status of the human embryo? Would it be morally wrong to create embryos with the human genome, specifically to secure embryonic stem cells for use in research, knowing that these embryos will be v

6 vi Preface destroyed in the process? Would it be wrong to experiment with stem cells taken from human embryos that were not originally created to produce materials for stem cell research, knowing that the experimentation will lead to the destruction of the embryos? Would it be wrong to experiment with cells taken from human embryos that were not created to produce materials for stem cell research when we know those embryos are about to be destroyed and discarded? Does the current use of human embryonic stem cells in research devalue humanity by treating these materials as mere commodities? Finally, are the current regulations on stem cell research unjust because they alienate women from their reproductive labor? Stem Cell Research is the 21st annual volume of Biomedical Ethics Reviews, a series of texts designed to review and update the literature on issues of central importance in bioethics today. It is also the last volume in the series that the current editors will prepare for publication. James Humber is retiring, and Robert Almeder is engaged in so many academic pursuits that he feels he lacks the time to continue as sole editor for the series and do full justice to the job. Still, readers should know that Humana Press is committed to the continued publication of volumes in the Biomedical Ethics Reviews series and is currently engaged in the process of selecting a new editor for the series. We, the editors, have enjoyed working with all of the employees of Humana Press with whom we have had contact over the years. We would especially like to thank Thomas L. Lanigan, president of Humana Press, for his unwavering support, trustworthiness, and invaluable advice. The idea for Biomedical Ethics Reviews was his, and we deeply appreciate the fact that he selected us to serve as the original editors for the series. We hope his expectations for Biomedical Ethics Reviews have been fulfilled, and are confident that whomever he selects to edit future volumes of Biomedical Ethics Reviews will make us proud to have our names forever associated with the series. In closing, one final comment seems in order. Never, in any of the pages of Biomedical Ethics Reviews that we have edited in

7 Preface vii the preceding 21 years, have we taken note of any of the contributions and sacrifices our wives have made to provide us with the time necessary to do our work. We know they expect no thanks for their efforts, and suspect that they know us well enough to realize how much we appreciate their support despite the fact that we have been silent for 21 years. Clearly, some formal statement of thanks is called for, and in recompense for our past errors of omission we would like to dedicate this volume of Biomedical Ethics Reviews to our wives, Helene Humber and Virginia Almeder. James M. Humber Robert F. Almeder

8 Contents v xi Preface Contributors 3 An Analogical Argument for Stem Cell Research Richard Werner 25 Marginal Cases and the Moral Status of Embryos Michael J. Almeida 43 Fixations on the Moral Status of the Embryo Michael C. Brannigan 61 Nazi Experiments and Stem Cell Research Dennis R. Cooley 87 Recent Ethical Controversies About Stem Cell Research James J. McCartney 123 Complicity in Embryonic and Fetal Stem Cell Research and Applications: Exploring and Extending Catholic Responses Jan C. Heller 151 Women, Commodification, and Embryonic Stem Cell Research Susan Dodds 175 Index ix

9 Contributors Michael J. Almeida Division of English, Classics, and Philosophy, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas Michael C. Brannigan Institute for Cross-Cultural Ethics, LaRoche College, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Dennis R. Cooley History Department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota Susan Dodds Philosophy Program, Faculty of Arts, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia Jan C. Heller Office of Ethics and Theology, Providence Health System, Seattle, Washington James J. McCartney Department of Philosophy, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania Richard Werner Department of Philosophy, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York xi