Posted by alexandra_k on June 8, 2005, at 3:11:26
In reply to Re: Whats wrong with stem cell research, posted by skybdark on June 7, 2005, at 19:00:43
Thanks for sharing your thoughts :-)
I think I am with you up till about here:
> They could be chosen from particularly disliked groups, like minorities, the handicapped, or lawyers.> How would you react to such a proposal? That is exactly what is being proposed here.
That would be analogous with choosing which embryos to conduct stem cell research on on the basis of race etc. I don't think that strategy has been suggested. All embryos are equal as far as stem cell research is concerned.>Medical researchers think that they may be able to save or improve the lives of some people by killing others.
Whoa.
I grant that a pre-embryo (4-8 cells) and an embryo is genetically human, but I don't grant them personhood. They are potential people to be sure, but they aren't people yet.
And most of them... Will never get to be if they are destroyed. I'm not sure that they still are being destroyed. But they used to be destroyed.There the point was that they were going to die anyway.
It doesn't hurt them to be researched on if they are going to die anyway.
But I think they have to stay in the freezer now...
Untill we run out of freezer room and then have to rethink that option...
How about this...
(Maybe my empirical details need correcting)
An egg is half a human being.
A sperm is half a human being.
Is it okay to research on them?
poster:alexandra_k
thread:504387
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20050509/msgs/509524.html