Abstract
It now seems technically feasible to culture human embryos beyond the “fourteen‐day limit,” which has the potential to increase scientific understanding of human development and perhaps improve infertility treatments. The fourteen‐day limit was adopted as a compromise but subsequently has been considered an ethical line. Does it remain relevant in light of technological advances permitting embryo maturation beyond it? Should it be changed and, if so, how and why? What justifications would be necessary to expand the limit, particularly given that doing so would violate some people's moral commitments regarding human embryos? Robust stakeholder engagement preceded adoption of the fourteen‐day limit and should arguably be part of efforts to reassess it. Such engagement could also consider the need for enhanced oversight of human embryo research. In the meantime, developing and implementing reliable oversight systems should help foster high‐quality research and public confidence in it.
Highlights
Sore n H ol m, I ngr id Metzler, Matteo A
The reports focused on the clinical practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and its related research
Scientists should work with stakeholders to develop processes for rigorous and transparent oversight of all human embryo research
Summary
Scientists should work with stakeholders to develop processes for rigorous and transparent oversight of all human embryo research. Agreement about what, if anything, should replace it or what would justify adopting different limits or criteria for research on older embryos Based on this lack of consensus and the global diversity of current human embryo and embryonic stem cell research policies, it is reasonable to expect that various policies will be developed to fit the values and preferences of different jurisdictions. There is no consensus on what a new time point or event should be Another option is to have no established limit but to review human embryo research intended to exceed fourteen days on a case-by-case basis. The review process would require investigators to articulate why the expected knowledge justifies culturing embryos beyond fourteen days This option would, necessitate creating explicit guidelines, establishing oversight bodies with sufficient expertise and authority, and implementing transparent procedures to promote public confidence in the decisions rendered. Such a system might be subject to many of the criticisms of contemporary human research oversight processes, including variability in decisions made by different review boards, a formal oversight process that has clearly defined procedures is, as we argue below, important for human embryo research.[15]
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