Stem cell treatment, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Cloning are critical procedures in medical science, promising life, health and healing to patients in ways that earlier generations have never imagined. With further development, these procedures can be the key to maintaining human life, and treating diseases and illnesses that still have no cure. Several moral issues, however, are present. For the following discussion, the focus is on stem cell research and the morality of using, creating, destroying and/or cloning human embryos for the purpose of research and the need for guidelines to govern human embryonic stem cell research.
Stem Cells, In Vitro Fertilization, Cloning and their Importance
Stem cells are classified into three. The first type is the Totipotent stem cell. This is the most versatile type since
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In stem cell research, medical science creates and inevitably destroys human embryos during research in order to understand and treat diseases. Hence, Stem Cell research “…involves the creation and destruction of multiple embryos…” (Lesson 1, Matters of Life Slide, n.d. p.15). But is this morally permissible? It is important to note that moral issues in medical science are founded on concerns of a procedure’s implications to inherent rights, privileges and dignity of the human being. So, the question is if an embryo should be considered human or not? Religious groups hold that the embryo is already a human being. Arguments are mainly based on the concept that science cannot be allowed to control human being’s destiny, because “only God is supposed to be able to make those types of choices and decisions” (Hinman, 2006, p.6). Another concern is that “reproductive technologies almost always involve manipulating and destroying embryos, and it is immoral to destroy the embryo which causes many religious thinkers to believe that IVF needs to be condemned” (Hinman, 1996,