ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Embryonic stem cell production through therapeutic cloning has fewer ethical problems than stem cell harvest from surplus IVF embryos

J-E S Hansen

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr J-E S Hansen, Centre for Rare Diseases and Disabilities, Bredgade 25, 1260 Copenhagen K, Denmark;
jesh@dadlnet.dk

Revised version received 28 August 2001

Accepted 28 August 2001

ABSTRACT

Restrictions on research on therapeutic cloning are questionable as they inhibit the development of a technique which holds promise for succesful application of pluripotent stem cells in clinical treatment of severe diseases. It is argued in this article that the ethical concerns are less problematic using therapeutic cloning compared with using fertilised eggs as the source for stem cells. The moral status of an enucleated egg cell transplanted with a somatic cell nucleus is found to be more clearly not equivalent to that of a human being. Based on ethical considerations alone, research into therapeutic cloning should be encouraged in order to develop therapeutic applications of stem cells.

Keywords: Cloning; stem cells; embryo status; human emergence

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Production of embryonic stem cells from unfertilised egg cells transplanted with a nucleus from, for example, a patient cell, ("therapeutic cloning") may result in immunologically compatible replacement tissues in severe degenerative or inherited diseases such as Huntington's chorea, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or cystic fibrosis.^1–3 At present research and development involving human embryonic stem cells is restricted in many countries, and in some only the use of embryonic stem cells derived from the blastocyst stage (day six) of fertilised eggs that are in surplus from fertility treatment is recommended.^4–6 Specifically, the Council of Europe has prohibited the creation of human embryos for research purposes. As stem cell based treatment may be beneficial to patients suffering from severe disease and as therapeutic cloning may offer a way to generate clinically superior stem cells, the present resistance to allowing this technique to be developed through research may seem unethical at first glance. . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Kuflik, A (2008). The "future like ours" argument and human embryonic stem cell research. J. Med. Ethics 34: 417-421 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Cedar, S H (2006). Stem Cell and Related Therapies: Nurses and midwives representing all parties. Nurs Ethics 13: 292-303 [Abstract]  
• Wert, G. d., Mummery, C. (2003). Human embryonic stem cells: research, ethics and policy. Hum Reprod 18: 672-682 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McMahon, C. A., Gibson, F. L., Leslie, G. I., Saunders, D. M., Porter, K. A., Tennant, C. C. (2003). Embryo donation for medical research: attitudes and concerns of potential donors. Hum Reprod 18: 871-877 [Abstract] [Full Text]