Technological changes have raised some ethical and moral issues. Stem cell
research has been a hot topic regarding the morality of using embryonic cells
for research purposes. Research using stem cells could further advance
studies for possible treatments for certain diseases (Lo & Parham, 2009). Not
only have there been issues raised with manipulating the stem cells, but there
are also ethical concerns with how the cells are obtained (Lo & Parham,
2009).
The general outcome of stem cell research is to find new treatments for
current diseases such as “diabetes, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease,
and myocardial infarction” (Lo & Parham, 2009). Stem cells can be used in a
culture setting and can be differentiated into specific cell types based on what
the research needs (Lo & Parham, 2009). These cells can then be
administered to the diseased individual and could potentially treat and
improve their status.
There are ethical issues with using stem cells for research due to the ability
for the cells to potentially become a human being (Lo & Parham, 2009).
There are some individuals that think manipulating stem cells is against
certain faiths and morality (Lo & Parham, 2009). For some people involved
in infertility treatments, there may be some embryos left over that need to be
discarded (Lo & Parham, 2009). This raises an issue with getting proper
consent to use the embryos for research and obtaining proper paperwork to
keep donor information confidential and safe (Lo & Parham, 2009).
Lo, B. & Parham, L. (2009). Ethical issues in stem cell research.-PubMed
Central.-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726839/
