About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


39 New Eng. L. Rev. 623 (2004-2005)
Stem Cell Policy: Where Do We Draw the Lines

handle is hein.journals/newlr39 and id is 633 raw text is: STEM CELL POLICY: WHERE Do WE DRAW THE LINES? LoRI P. KNOWLES* It should be recalled that the purpose of bioethics is not to ban upfront scientific advances, particularly in the field of medicine, but to define the limits of the socially desirable and ethically permissible. -Bioethics Advisory Committee of Israel National Academies of Sciences and Humanities Excitement about possible new life-saving treatments in medicine has not abated since the announcement of the isolation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and human embryonic germ cells.' While stem cell research continues in mouse embryo models and more recently, in human embryo models, nations around the globe have struggled to develop policy that will allow the science to proceed while respecting the values each society holds dear. Finding the balance between these two goals requires transparent and controversial political debate. A survey of selected regulatory responses around the world reveals that while there are a number of policy alternatives for regulating human embryonic stem cell research, the resulting regulatory patchwork continues to evolve.2 hESC research requires the destruction of human embryos to isolate the stem cells from the inner cell mass. For this reason hESC research involving the derivation of stem cells is properly understood as a form of human embryo research. International human embryo research policies vary greatly from nation to nation. This variation also applies to international hESC policies. Concerns about the acceptability and Lori P. Knowles is a Research Associate of the Health Law Institute, University of Alberta, Canada. She holds law degrees from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 1. James A. Thomson et al., Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts, 282 SCI. MAG. 1145-47 (1998). 2. See generally Lori P. Knowles, A Regulatory Patchwork-Human ES Cell Research Oversight, 22 NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY 157 (Feb. 2004).