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medical technology
November 2008 
Healthy new-born babies may have been killed for their stem cells
Posted on Dec 13th, 2006
by 
Vivek
Vivek
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6171083.stm
Continuing a bit on the recent medical theme heres something rather disturbing I just read at bbc.co.uk. Ukraine has apparently become a hub for a lot of stem cell related activities and there is evidence that new-born babies may have been killed for their stem cells. This doesn't seem to be completely proven yet but the evidence seems pretty damning and the BBC is a reasonably reliable news source.
This is, to be honest, something I've been kind of expecting to here for a while. Its also, to reference an earlier post, the kind of thing science fiction writers have been warning us about for a while. I feel the key problem here is that medical technology moves so fast and pulls us so hard. Ethical lines blur sometimes when someone we love is very ill.
A different form of this debate has of course been raging in the US for some time now. How do you tell someone that a cure exists for their cancer but it must be denied to them for reasons that seem so abstract and preachy? I'm not really against stem-cell research, but I do feel we must be careful with these things. What is human life? Why is it so critical? How do we protect it? This are critical issues and its dangerous to throw them into this brew of commerce and need.
I fear the commercialization of embryonic tissue, because once something becomes a commodity strange pressures are exerted on it.
In a broader sense I feel that when a new medical technology arrives that has huge ethical implications like human cloning or stem cell research its important to take the time and understand the implications, even if it means delaying treatment to some.
I will admit that it would be terribly hard for me to look someone in the eye who needed this treatment and say: "I'm sorry, your just going to have to wait, we need some time to resolve the moral dilemmas inherent in this live-saving treatment". But the human race is going into strange and dangerous territory, it has only just begun and I fear it will only grow harder and more complex as the next wave of technology and innovation arrives.
Patience, humility, and understanding will be a necessity, imho.
Continuing a bit on the recent medical theme heres something rather disturbing I just read at bbc.co.uk. Ukraine has apparently become a hub for a lot of stem cell related activities and there is evidence that new-born babies may have been killed for their stem cells. This doesn't seem to be completely proven yet but the evidence seems pretty damning and the BBC is a reasonably reliable news source.
This is, to be honest, something I've been kind of expecting to here for a while. Its also, to reference an earlier post, the kind of thing science fiction writers have been warning us about for a while. I feel the key problem here is that medical technology moves so fast and pulls us so hard. Ethical lines blur sometimes when someone we love is very ill.
A different form of this debate has of course been raging in the US for some time now. How do you tell someone that a cure exists for their cancer but it must be denied to them for reasons that seem so abstract and preachy? I'm not really against stem-cell research, but I do feel we must be careful with these things. What is human life? Why is it so critical? How do we protect it? This are critical issues and its dangerous to throw them into this brew of commerce and need.
I fear the commercialization of embryonic tissue, because once something becomes a commodity strange pressures are exerted on it.
In a broader sense I feel that when a new medical technology arrives that has huge ethical implications like human cloning or stem cell research its important to take the time and understand the implications, even if it means delaying treatment to some.
I will admit that it would be terribly hard for me to look someone in the eye who needed this treatment and say: "I'm sorry, your just going to have to wait, we need some time to resolve the moral dilemmas inherent in this live-saving treatment". But the human race is going into strange and dangerous territory, it has only just begun and I fear it will only grow harder and more complex as the next wave of technology and innovation arrives.
Patience, humility, and understanding will be a necessity, imho.
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