Too-Many-Oids: The paradox in constructing an organoid ethics framework

Abstract

Background: The field of organoid ethics is complex and multifaceted, and the need for flexibility and adaptability in the face of its moral complexity is of great importance. Certain kinds of organoids may be deemed morally controversial due to their intrinsic characteristics (e.g., brain organoids, embryoids, or organoid intelligence models) and debates are underway over their possible moral standing. Furthermore, different domains of organoid applications, such as transplantation, precision medicine, or disease modeling have fundamentally different moral concerns. Methods: In this paper, we argue that it is a mistake and near impossible to develop an overarching, all-in-one ethical framework that can sufficiently cover the myriad of organoid moral contexts. We first identify different ontological categories of organoid technologies along with morally problematic properties. We then present different moral contexts in which the organoid technologies are applied. Results: Constructing an organoid ethics framework that can both consider all the relevant moral properties and contexts, and be a useful ethical lens for moral examination may lead to a paradox; the more relevant moral contexts the framework tries to incorporate, the more abstract and less useful the framework becomes. Conclusions: It may be more useful for bioethicists to take on more collaborative and contextual approaches for organoids ethics.