RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Can artificial parthenogenesis sidestep ethical pitfalls in human therapeutic cloning? An historical perspective
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 733
OP 735
DO 10.1136/jme.2004.010199
VO 31
IS 12
A1 Fangerau, H
YR 2005
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/31/12/733.abstract
AB The aim of regenerative medicine is to reconstruct tissue that has been lost or pathologically altered. Therapeutic cloning seems to offer a method of achieving this aim; however, the ethical debate surrounding human therapeutic cloning is highly controversial. Artificial parthenogenesis—obtaining embryos from unfertilised eggs—seems to offer a way to sidestep these ethical pitfalls. Jacques Loeb (1859–1924), the founding father of artificial parthogenesis, faced negative public opinion when he published his research in 1899. His research, the public’s response to his findings, and his ethical foundations serve as an historical argument both for the communication of science and compromise in biological research.