The stem cell debate continues: the buying and selling of eggs for research

Βaylis, Françoise; McLeod, Carolyn

doi:10.1136/jme.2007.022129

Cited by 61 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…There are, for instance, arguments about how to acquire human eggs ethically (Winickoff 2006;Baylis and McLeod 2007), about whether somatic cell nuclear transfer really is the scientifically and socially preferred technique for deriving human embryonic stem cells (Giacomini et al 2007), and about how to proceed from apparent successes in non-human animals to human clinical studies (Lo et al 2005;Robert 2006). But these debates are almost all undertaken within the framework that there is nothing intrinsically evil about human pluripotent stem cell research.…”

Section: Bioethics As Bio-evangelism?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Better Bioethics

Robert

2009

Sci Eng Ethics

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It has been argued that bioethicists too often tend to represent the interests of scientists and not of the broader polity. Indeed, bioethicists seem predisposed to discard the voices and viewpoints of all but the cognoscenti. Focusing particularly on human pluripotent stem cell research, this commentary explores a variety of characterizations of bioethics and bioethicists in relation to forbidding science. Rather than proselytizing or prohibiting, bioethicists should work in partnership with scientists and publics to craft scientifically well-informed and morally sophisticated debates about forbidding science.

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Section: Bioethics As Bio-evangelism?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Better Bioethics

Robert

2009

Sci Eng Ethics

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“…Physical risks include (a) those associated with ovarian stimulation, including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, abdominal pain, fatigue, mood changes, strokes, renal failure, heart attacks and possibly ovarian or uterine cancer and (b) those associated with the surgical retrieval of ova such as bleeding and hemorrhage, pelvic injury, and infection [24,48]. The social risks to women ova providers include exploitation and undue influence due to substantive compensation (financial or other) [3] and gratitude for services towards physicians [34], both of which may undermine the ability of some women to provide voluntary informed consent. A marginalized population of women may fall victims to such exploitation, especially in nations where the provisions on research ethics are less stringent and where poverty is more pronounced [20,67].…”

Section: Destruction Of Embryos and Harms To Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 To maximize the use of limited embryonic material in the initial phase, we propose that excess embryos created for any purpose (e.g., assisted reproduction, training, or research) should be used to subsequently derive pluripotent stem cells after having satisfied the original purpose for which they were created. 3 This will require great efforts to communicate and coordinate with researchers and assisted reproductive clinics to not destroy embryos after they have been used for the initial purpose. A national system for coordinating the efficient sharing of embryos could go a long way towards reducing the generation (and destruction) of more embryos than what might be considered necessary.…”

Section: Application Of a Moral Compromise In Scr Policy And Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Resnik [54] outlines several principles in the ethics of science one of which is that scientists should use limited resources efficiently which includes economic, human, and technological resources 3. Embryos can be created for reproductive purposes, for research towards improving assisted reproductive technologies, to train technicians, and to test materials for toxicity.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Ethics of Moral Compromise for Stem Cell Research Policy

Master

Crozier

2011

Health Care Anal

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In the US, stem cell research is at a moral impasse-many see this research as ethically mandated due to its potential for ameliorating major diseases, while others see this research as ethically impermissible because it typically involves the destruction of embryos and use of ova from women. Because their creation does not require embryos or ova, induced pluripotent stem cells offer the most promising path for addressing the main ethical objections to stem cell research; however, this technology is still in development. In order for scientists to advance induced pluripotent stem cell research to a point of translational readiness, they must continue to use ova and embryos in the interim. How then are we to ethically move forward with stem cell research? We argue that there is personal integrity and value in adopting a 'moral compromise' as a means for moving past the moral impasse in stem cell research. In a moral compromise, each party concedes part of their desired outcome in order to engage in a process that respects the values and desires of all parties equitably. Whereas some contend that moral compromise in stem cell research necessarily involves self-contradiction or loss of personal integrity, we argue that in the US context, stem cell research satisfies many of the key pre-conditions of an effective moral compromise. To illustrate our point, we offer a model solution wherein eggs and embryos are temporarily used until non-egg and non-embryonic sources of pluripotent stem cells are developed to a state of translational readiness.

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“…But older egg freezers (and younger freezers, if they had qualms about donation for use in others' treatment) could donate their unwanted eggs for research purposes. This is potentially significant because the recruitment of egg donors for research purposes has been both difficult and controversial (Baylis and McLeod, 2007;Beeson and Lippman, 2006). If leftover frozen eggs could be used instead, they might represent an invaluable scientific resource.…”

Section: Future Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ambiguities of ‘social’ egg freezing and the challenges of informed consent

Jackson

2017

BioSocieties

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Fertility clinics (and some employers) in the UK and other high-income countries have recently started to offer egg freezing to women concerned about their age-related fertility decline. Because the use of egg freezing for this purpose is new, there is no reliable evidence of its usefulness, or otherwise. There are no guarantees that egg freezing will work, and for many and perhaps most women, their frozen eggs will never be used. It is also unclear whether egg freezing is a positive development for women in general. It offers an additional choice, and it may enable some women to have genetically-related children more easily in the future. At the same time, it could be argued that egg freezing individualises and medicalises the social problem of a mismatch between female fertility and when women and men feel ready to have children. This article suggests that egg freezing is an ambiguous technology, whose benefits are as yet speculative, and that women therefore need as much clear and frank information as possible in order to navigate this new and by no means straightforward choice.

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The stem cell debate continues: the buying and selling of eggs for research

Cited by 61 publications

References 30 publications

Toward a Better Bioethics

Toward a Better Bioethics

The Ethics of Moral Compromise for Stem Cell Research Policy

The ambiguities of ‘social’ egg freezing and the challenges of informed consent

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