Can Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Escape its Troubled History?

Posted: 12 Dec 2014

See all articles by Lisa Chiyemi Ikemoto

Lisa Chiyemi Ikemoto

University of California, Davis - School of Law

Date Written: December 10, 2014

Abstract

In 2013 and 2014, three U.S.-based research teams each reported success at creating cell lines after somatic cell nuclear transfer with human eggs. This essay assesses the disclosures about how oocytes were obtained from women for each of the three projects. The three reports described the methods used to obtain eggs with varying degrees of specificity. One description, in particular, provided too little information to assess whether or not the research complied with law or other ethical norms. This essay then considers methodological transparency as an ethical principle. Situating the research within the ethical and moral controversies that surround it and the high-profile fraudulent claims that preceded it, the essay concludes that transparency about methodology, including the means of obtaining human cells and tissues, should be understood as an ethical minimum.

Keywords: bioethics, research ethics, reproductive health, women’s health, stem cell research, scientific fraud

Suggested Citation

Ikemoto, Lisa Chiyemi, Can Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Escape its Troubled History? (December 10, 2014). 44 Hastings Center Report 7 (Nov.-Dec. 2014), UC Davis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 409, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2536444

Lisa Chiyemi Ikemoto (Contact Author)

University of California, Davis - School of Law ( email )

Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall
Davis, CA CA 95616-5201
United States

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