Event Description
We now recognize that stem cells not only show the ability to develop into different cells and repair the body throughout life, but can also be isolated and used later in life for therapeutic purpose. The attendant ethical debates include: (a) when does human personhood begin; (b) is it more ethical to use embryonic stem cells that have already been isolated and what should we do if those prove insufficient for future research and therapies; (c) should stem cell research be done in the private or public sector and with what federal funding; (d) when is it ethical to try novel therapies on humans in the face of imperfect knowledge; (e) can biological material be owned and patented; (f) how can stem cell therapies be made affordable? Prof. Snyder argued that better knowledge of fundamental biology will help resolve some of these issues. Biology itself may define common ground where divergent views on these issues can meet to reach consensus.
Commentators
Prof. Paul Tuite, MD
Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Clinic, University of Minnesota
Prof. Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH
Center for Bioethics, University of Minnesota