Abstract
I argue that embryonic stem cell research is fair to the embryo, even on the assumption that the embryo has attained full personhood and an attendant right to life at conception. This is because the only feasible alternatives open to the embryo are to exist briefly in an unconscious state and be killed or to not exist at all. Hence, one is neither depriving the embryo of an enduring life it would otherwise have had nor is one causing the embryo pain. I also argue that a rational agent in a situation relevantly similar to that of the embryo would consent to such research, and I use this insight to ground two justice-based arguments in favor of this research.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beckwith, F.J. 1993. Politically correct death: Answering the case for abortion rights. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Bortolotti, L., and J. Harris. 2005. Stem cell research, personhood and sentience. Reproductive Biomedicine Online 10(Supplement 1): 68–75.
Chalmers, D. 1996. The conscious mind: In search of a fundamental theory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Churchland, P.M. 1984. Matter and consciousness: A contemporary introduction to the philosophy of mind. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Fantl, J., and McGrath, M. 2009. Knowledge in an uncertain world. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fodor, J.A. 1987. Psychosemantics: The problem of meaning in the philosophy of mind. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
George, R.P., and C. Tollefson. 2008. Embryo: A defense of human life. New York: Doubleday.
Harris, J. 2003. Stem cells, sex, and procreation. Cambridge Quarterly Journal of Health Care Ethics 12(4): 353–371.
Kant, I. 1996. The metaphysics of morals. ed. and trans. M. Gregor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kass, L. 2002. Life, liberty and the defense of dignity: The challenge for bioethics. San Francisco: Encounter Books.
Lewis, D.K. 1966. An argument for the identity theory. The Journal of Philosophy 63(1): 17–25.
Manninen, B.A. 2008. Are human embryos Kantian persons? Kantian considerations in favor of embryonic stem cell research. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 3: 4. doi:10.1186/1747-5341-3-4.
Pontifical Academy for Life. 2000. Production and the scientific and therapeutic use of human embryonic stem cells. In Text of the opinion: Ethical aspects of human stem cell research and uses, European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, 176–183.
Rachels, J. 1975. Active and passive euthanasia. The New England Journal of Medicine 292(2): 78–80.
Rae, S. 1995. Moral choices: An introduction to ethics. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Rawls, J. 1971. A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Singer, P. 1987. Creating embryos. In Ethical issues at the outset of life, ed. W.B. Weil Jr. and M. Benjamin, 43–62. Boston: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Tendler, M.D. 1999. Testimony. In Ethical issues in human stem cell research. Volume III. Religious perspectives, ed. National Bioethics Advisory Commission, H-1–H-5. Rockville, MD: NBAC.
Warren, M.A. 1973. On the moral and legal status of abortion. The Monist 57(1): 43–61.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rizzieri, A. Stem Cell Research on Embryonic Persons Is Just. Bioethical Inquiry 9, 195–203 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-012-9364-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-012-9364-0