Philosophy 101 Tenth Edition

Running head : STEM-CELL RESEARCH

The Ethical Repercussions of Stem-Cell Research

A Position

Introduction

The chief aim of this is to pursue a discussion that hopes to shed light into the range of ethical norms applicable to the practice of stem-cell research . Corollary to such goal , this attempts to ultimately take a position on the matter , after elaborating the same under the purview of two ethical tools that represent two major schools of thought in the field of ethics - the deontological and utilitarian paradigms . This is thus both expository and argumentative

for in the final analysis , this attempts to lay judgment on whether or not the practice of stem-cell research - an issue which , all things considered , is incurably divisive - has any moral basis to begin with

Appraising Stem-Cell Research Using the Tools of Deontology and Utilitarianism

Stem-cell research is a process involving the regeneration of healthy cellular components which in turn enables scientists use new cells to treat injuries or diseases such as Alzheimer 's , Parkinson 's diseases as well as heart and kidney failures (National Bioethics Advisory Commission , 1999 ,

. 1 . Akin to the scientific methodology relative to cloning , stem-cell research is only possible if and only if a given a parent or host cell is made available for regeneration . Concretely , the endeavor begins with the production of embryos - which technically is a human person at the stage of conception - from where certain healthy cellular components are drawn from or harvested (Kass and Wilson , 1998...