Scientists Close to Creating Human Embryos from Stem Cells
The “anything goes” ethical peril in biotechnology is all too realDuring the great embryonic-stem-cell debate in the early 2000s, I personally witnessed scientists blatantly mislead legislators about biotech issues such as cloning, adult stem cells, and the biological nature of embryos in order to gain funding and/or resist regulations. It was an effective, but disgraceful, tactic that disrespected the democratic process about crucial issues of morality and public policy. Now, with the creation of human “synthetic embryos,” aka, “embryo models, or “embryo replicas,” which are constructed with pluripotent stem cells, I hope we are not slipping back into those bad old days of mendacity. But I worry. A recent story about the breakthrough in Science News contains an incomplete description about human embryology that impacts the ethical stakes about what is being Read More ›
