Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate

Abstract

The collection of essays in Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate has arrived at a timely point in history. The successful induction of pluripotent stem cells from human fibroblasts and the impending regime change in Washington have raised the hopes and caught the attention of both supporters and opponents of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. Editors Kristen Monroe, Ronald Miller, and Jerome Tobis have compiled an excellent primer on the practical, philosophical, and political aspects of America’s fracas over the ethics and justification of embryonic stem cell research. The book begins with two chapters by Peter Bryant and Philip Schwartz, who offer an articulate scientific description of what embryonic and adult human stem cells are and then detail the current and potential applications of stem cells in medicine and research. Despite its depth, the material remains very understandable, although readers without a biological background may struggle with the ubiquitous scientific terminology. Fundamentals also covers the ethical and religious implications of ESC research. A religious panel that includes Mahtab Jafari, Fanny Elahi, Saba Ozyurt, and Ted Wrigley discuss the concerns (or lack thereof) felt by various sects of Christianity, Buddhism, Hindusim, Islam, and Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, without offering judgment or validation of the presented beliefs. This analysis follows an excellent essay by Philip Nickel, who wrestles with what criteria are needed to define a person and give him “moral standing” and what should be done when disparate views collide in the public arena. The differing responses Nickel gives people opposed to ESC research on religious grounds and secular individuals feeling disgust toward it, however, are completely arbitrary. The next three chapters continue to examine how federal and state policy does, and should, affect the progress of ESC research. Lawrence Goldstein focuses on the role states can play during the current climate and details the favorable stance toward embryonic stem cell research taken by California and the probable implications of this encouragement. Lee Zwanziger discusses the federal government’s stance on ESC research and what role science plays in determining policy. Sidney Golub examines the failure of federal and international statutes attempted against cloning, explaining why they failed, what caused them to be inappropriately framed, and how to improve them. Finally, Ronald Miller returns to the ethics associated with every stage of stem cell research, from basic science to medicinal application, and the policy that decides funding opportunities for continuation of the research. He also addresses the issue of moral standing, but from an alternative viewpoint than Nickel. Instead, Miller discusses the various gradations of personhood a human has, as they progress from blastocyst to embryo to fetus. Kristen Monroe and Ted Wrigley conclude the book by throwing in some well-crafted hyberbole linking ESC research to the fate of the nation and speculating on whether consensus will ever be possible. They restate the goal of their enterprise: to “present the central issues” of the stem cell debate in a “comprehensive but accessible” manner. In this, I believe, they have succeeded.