Animal eggs for stem cell research: a path not worth taking.

In January 2008, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) (London, UK) issued two 1-year licenses for cytoplasmic hybrid embryo research. This article situates the HFEA's decision in its wider scientific and political context in which, until quite recently, the debate about human embryonic stem cell research has focused narrowly on the moral status of the developing human embryo. Next, ethical arguments against crossing species boundaries with humans are canvassed. Finally, a new argument about the risks of harm to women egg providers resulting from research involving the creation of humanesque cytoplasmic hybrid embryos is elaborated. Taken together these ethical concerns about the moral status of the human embryo, about the ethics of crossing species boundaries with humans, and about the potential harms to women (concerns that independently are more or less weighty for different constituencies), provide good reason to eschew humanesque cytoplasmic hybrid embryo research in favor of less ethically controversial means to the laudable end of successful regenerative medicine.

Can we develop ethically universal embryonic stem-cell lines?

Human embryonic stem-cell (hESC) research faces opposition from those who object to the destruction of human embryos. Over the past few years, a series of new approaches have been proposed for deriving hESC lines without injuring a living embryo. Each of these presents scientific challenges and raises ethical and political questions. Do any of these methods have the potential to provide a source of hESCs that will be acceptable to those who oppose the current approaches?

Can artificial parthenogenesis sidestep ethical pitfalls in human therapeutic cloning? An historical perspective.

The aim of regenerative medicine is to reconstruct tissue that has been lost or pathologically altered. Therapeutic cloning seems to offer a method of achieving this aim; however, the ethical debate surrounding human therapeutic cloning is highly controversial. Artificial parthenogenesis-obtaining embryos from unfertilised eggs-seems to offer a way to sidestep these ethical pitfalls. Jacques Loeb (1859-1924), the founding father of artificial parthenogenesis, faced negative public opinion when he published his research in 1899. His research, the public's response to his findings, and his ethical foundations serve as an historical argument both for the communication of science and compromise in biological research.

Human embryo cloning prohibited in Hong Kong.

Since the birth of Dolly (the cloned sheep) in 1997, debates have arisen on the ethical and legal questions of cloning-for-biomedical-research (more commonly termed "therapeutic cloning") and of reproductive cloning using human gametes. Hong Kong enacted the Human Reproductive Technology Ordinance (Cap 561) in 2000. Section 15(1)(e) of this Ordinance prohibits the "replacing of the nucleus of a cell of an embryo with a nucleus taken from any other cell," i.e., nucleus substitution. Section 15(1)(f) prohibits the cloning of any embryo. The scope of the latter, therefore, is arguably the widest, prohibiting all cloning techniques such as cell nucleus replacement, embryo splitting, parthenogenesis, and cloning using stem cell lines. Although the Human Reproductive Technology Ordinance is not yet fully operative, this article examines how these prohibitions may adversely impact on basic research and the vision of the Hong Kong scientific community. It concludes that in light of recent scientific developments, it is time to review if the law offers a coherent set of policies in this area.

Rescuing human embryonic stem cell research: the Blastocyst Transfer Method.

Despite the therapeutic potential of human embryonic stem (HES) cells, many people believe that HES cell research should be banned. The reason is that the present method of extracting HES cells involves the destruction of the embryo, which for many is the beginning of a person. This paper examines a number of compromise solutions such as parthenogenesis, the use of defective embryos, genetically creating a "pseudo embryo" that can never form a placenta, and determining embryo death, and argues that none of these proposals are likely to satisfy embryoists, that is, those who regard the embryo as a person. This paper then proposes a method of extracting HES cells, what might be called the Blastocyst Transfer Method, that meets the ethical requirements of embryoists, and it considers some possible concerns regarding this method. It concludes by encouraging future HES cell research to investigate this method.

Human reproductive technologies and the law: a select committee report.

The House of Commons Science & Technology Committee has reviewed the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. It considered a) the balance between legislation, regulation and reproductive freedom; b) the role of Parliament in human reproductive technologies; and c) the foundation, adequacy and appropriateness of the ethical framework for legislation. It also considered the Act itself and the workings of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Its report is written from a very liberal perspective, but is a very thorough overview of current issues and debate in the field. There follow, slightly abridged, the conclusions and recommendations of the 200-page report.