Stem Cell Bioethics Social Sciences Research Paper

Stem Cell Bioethics: An Analysis
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Stem Cell Bioethics
Introduction
Stem cell researches have been advanced with the aims of fostering a proper understanding of the underlying mechanisms in the processes of differentiation, development, and repair of tissues and therapeutic application of the undifferentiated tissues in processes such as repair and replacement of organs Allum et al. (2017). According to Kimg and Perrin (2014), both ethical and social issues emanate whenever scientific studies are undertaken because such studies impose direct or indirect influences among individuals. Further, biomedical studies are extremely affected by such issues due to underlying potential benefits as well as the costs these researches impose on the immediate societies. According to de Miguel-Beriain (2014), any medical practitioner has a direct obligation of ensuring that the patients he serves are accorded optimal levels of morality by ensuring that their samples are effectively moderated whenever they are applied in researches. Stem cell researches have been considered as biomedical studies that raise multiple questions in the dimension of ethics and morality that can be categorized into two areas.
First, Liso et al. (2017) identify the ethical issues that surround the points of origin of the stem cells and in particular, the underlying applications of the embryo cells. Second, there are ethical issues that surround the application of stem cell tissues in researches. On the other hand, Duffy et al. (2016) identify the non-therapeutic application of biomedical procedures such as cloning, artificial fertilization, and genetic modification as practices that raise multiple ethical issues when dealing with human samples in research. This is because these practices accord the researchers with the inherent powers of imposing active interventions in the processes of physical insemination, maintenance, and modification of human tissues. Therefore, these procedures call for proper questioning of the conventional assumptions that underlie the propriety of imposing interferences in the activities of creating and modifying human beings.
On the other hand, Duffy et al. (2016) reveal that such techniques may also be considered as sources of threat to the traditional structures of families. The current study seeks to undertake a critical analysis of the bioethical issues surrounding human stem cell researches with inclination on the issues of morality that surround the sources and techniques applied in the processes of developing these cells. Consequently, the study shall investigate the underlying ethical issues that surround the scholarly investigations targeting stem cells derived from embryos following infertility studies, the moral variations and relationships depicted in the processes of development and application of stem cell in pursuit of infertility researches and the issues of funding biomedical researches dealing with stem cells.
Ethical Issues surrounding Scientific Researches dealing with Stem Cells Derived from Embryos after Infertility Treatments
The issues of morality relating to the use of human embryos have spanned multiple arguments in the last two decades Chan (2017). Remnant embryos following infertility treatments are considered as one of the vastly applied sources of stem cells applied in biomedical studies. According to Allum et al. (2017), couples engaging in such research affairs to provide their embryos for scientific studies decide to discontinue to store the remaining embryo for reproductive purposes, even though they do not show the will of donating such organisms to other willing couples. Therefore, such individuals prefer the alternatives of destroying the embryos either through the adoption of thawing procedures or bestowing them for application in scientific studies. Such processes present multiple bioethical issues such as the moral statuses of the embryos under consideration and the moral issues surrounding the origin of the stem cells and application of the embryo as discussed in the ensuing subsections of the paper.
Ethical Consideration of the Moral Status of the Embryo
Consideration of the underlying “moral status” of an organism vets the ways through which individuals act towards the organism under consideration and the treatments expected by the organism from other avenues (Kimmelman et al., 2014). The debates surrounding the moral stands occupied by the embryos used in stem cell experiments have conventionally circled the question of whether the embryo needs to be accorded similar moral statuses as children. De Miguel-Beriain (2015) explains that such moral statuses include the right to life and protection from the sacrificial biomedical procedures that are aimed at benefiting the society. While some avenues may uphold the argument that the human embryo is only a collection of cells that lack the privilege of enjoying the underlying moral status just like other cells, others uphold the ideology that the embryo needs to be accorded similar moral values as those acquainted to adults and children. In the latter view, biomedical researches conducted with the sole aim of imposing harm on the side of the embryo need to be considered illegal.
From a universal point of view, the human embryo merits all the qualification for consideration as an organism that needs to be accorded the respect and values of morality based on the position it occupies as one of the most significant stages and forms of human life. Kimg and Perrin (2014) reveal that the agencies that are in total opposition to this point of view cite issues such as the inability of the embryo to undertake self-conscious activities such as the ability to reason as their strong point of argument. However, Liso et al. (2017) hold that embryos are indeed human beings and have the inherent right to be accorded the opportunity to live and the humanness of this organism must confer to the moral position of any other individual.
The moral issues surrounding the origin of the stem cells and application of the embryo
There is evidence that the issue of the moral position of the embryo has attracted significant attention particularly in the deliberations that surround the aspects of using the tissues of the embryo in scientific researches. According to Pereira et al. (2017), stem cells are extracted from the sacrifices of embryos as well as adults in the form of tissue donations extracted from umbilical cords and bone marrows. However, there exists a wide range of opinions concerning the moral position surrounding the processes that merit the processes of extracting stem cells from these respective avenues as well as the levels of likely futuristic needs of the embryos destroyed when conducting this process. However, Duffy et al. (2016) reveal that a balance of opinions exists in the suggestion that embryo stems can be easily adapted for therapeutic procedures in comparison to the cells of adult human beings. Despite the general argument, there is a need to reconsider the ethical issues circling these processes anyway.
Multiple controversies in the policies, regulatory frameworks, and procedures underlie the ...