Human embryonic stem cells can divide indefinitely and have the potential                  to develop into many types of tissue. Research on these cells is essential to one of                  the most intriguing medical frontiers, regenerative medicine. It also raises a host                  of difficult ethical issues and has sparked great public interest and                  controversy.This book offers a foundation for thinking about the many issues                  involved in human embryonic stem cell research. It considers questions about the                  nature of human life, the limits of intervention into human cells and tissues, and                  the meaning of our corporeal existence. The fact that stem cells may be derived from                  living embryos that are destroyed in the process or from aborted fetuses ties the                  discussion of stem cell research to the ongoing debates on abortion. In addition to                  these issues, the essays in the book touch on broader questions such as who should                  approve controversial research and what constitutes human dignity, respect, and                  justice. The book contains contributions from the Ethics Advisory Board of the Geron                  Coroporation; excerpts from expert testimony given before the National Bioethics                  Advisory Commission, which helped shape recent National Institutes of Health policy;                  and original analytical essays on the implications of this research.

The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy PDF

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