Part ii- what’s in a name: Embryos, clones, and stem cells

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

In 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act" and President Bush announced his decision to allow only limited research on existing stem cell lines but not on " embryos." In contrast, the U.K. has explicitly authorized "therapeutic cloning." Much more will be said about bioethical, legal, and social implications, but subtleties of the science and careful definitions of terms have received much less consideration. Legislators and reporters struggle to discuss "cloning," "pluripotency," " stem cells," and " embryos," and whether " adult" are preferable to " embryonic" stem cells as research subjects. They profess to abhor " copying humans" or " killing embryos." Do they know what they are talking about? Do we? This paper explores the historical, philosophical, and scientific contexts that inform this heated discussion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)12-19
Number of pages8
JournalAmerican Journal of Bioethics
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2002

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Issues, ethics and legal aspects
  • Health Policy

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