Summaries of books I have read

Whose view of life? By Jane Maienschein Harvard University Press Cambridge, Mass London, England 2003

Main points of the book

1) Setting the boundaries for the beginning of life has strong implications for the regulation of human embryo research

How to decide at what point to count an embryo as being alive?

Absolutists define this as being at the point of conception (sperm fertilization of the egg. Any disruption of the development process is immoral. They favour prohibiting all human embryonic cell research and making this kind of research illegal.

· Alternative supporters believe that from conception life goes through different stages some of which may be considered life and deserving of protection and other stages that are too early to be considered as life. These stages include:

Ø the blastocyst stage (4 to 5 days after conception)

Ø implantation of the embryo in the uterus in the uterus

Ø at the gastrula stage (14 to 15 days after conception) with formation of the “primitive streak” (the primitive streak has been show to react to external stimulation)

Ø According to the Jewish religion “ensoulment” of the embryo begins 40 days after conception

2) Reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning, human embryonic stem cell research call into question how life is to be defined and defended

· The concept that life arises gradually in stages is the basis for the legalization of abortion

· Fertility clinics allow the mixing of sperm and egg in a Petri dish, allowing the fertilized egg to divide, followed by implantation in the mother. Eggs must be collected from mothers to do this. Eggs can be stored by freezing after fertilization and at freezing, they may also be destroyed.

Is the potential to manipulate embryos a distortion of human life itself?

Should society fear the consequences that can arise in the future as a result of false decisions? Can our political and social processes lead us to the right moral judgements decisions or should this technology be banned across the board?

Preformationists: “there is a moment when life begins and from that point the individual is already formed and begins to grow”

Epigenetic: life is a “gradual and emergent process with form and new life arising gradually and progressively over time.”

Epigeniticists believe that a life and living processes occur through the course of development and there is no decisive moment for the beginning of life but rather an ongoing process, and indeed that is why there is a prolonged course of gestation and development.

Usefulness of the historical analysis of the debate:

· One can see that competing points of view are long standing concerning this issue and that they draw on similar arguments. One can possibly diffuse the arguments of current claims of moral truth by showing the arguer that the current debate has had a long history

· Perhaps something can be learned from past responses to hard questions. We can also see how the past controversies have shaped and constrained our current state of belief and the current debate. The epigenetic versus preformationist debate still goes on today e.g. church institutions versus pro-choice advocates.

The historical perspective can help to give guidance on how to resolve the current controversies around cloning, and embryonic stem cell research by enabling us to come to the realization that rapid advances in science have always led to predictions of impending doom that never took place. Because of these we must realize that we are not on the brink of some type of danger that we have never encountered before.

· Respect for the rights and interests of the parties involved

· Balance duties and obligations to all

· Avoid doing harm

· Protect minorities

· Seek justice consistent with democratic principles

These decisions must be informed by the best available science knowledge. But science alone cannot define at what stage in the sequence of development is the point at which society wants to call a life.

4) Core of controversy

Are all stages of human embryonic development equivalent to the beginnings of life? Bioethicist theologians consider early stage embryos as being potential persons as meriting the same moral consideration as fully formed fetuses. They are considered to be potential persons. These arguments need to be demonstrated.

Such arguments fail to take into account the vast amount of evidence showing significant biological differences between potential and actual life. Bioethicists choose to discount these differences as not decisive in their argumentation. This discounting of the differences during embryonic development, however should be based on fact and not on misinformation or ignorance of biological phenomena and pretending not to discount these differences during development and maintaining that all stages of development are equivalent.

How science works:

· Accumulating knowledge

· Revising interpretations in light of new evidence

· Moving through a consensus of the scientific community about what is established and what is hypothetical and in need of further testing

5) Questions

• Who decides what counts as good science?
• What is the role of science in society?
• Who decides what is true and good for society?
• What are the responsibilities of scientists?

6) Biopolicy decision policy should be based on:

· Promotion better public understanding of science

· Scientists, bioethicists, and theologians must learn humility and tolerance for each others points of view. Biopolicy must be based on the best available scientific the best moral thinking (this is important because there have been many views of life and many definitions of life throughout history and ethical thinking has changed with new knowledge)

· Learning from history that even though new scientific innovations seem to threaten or even destroy life as we know it, society has learned to manage the risks and later found the it was good to have the new technology.

·

References

Scientific literacy

1. Mainshein et al.. Scientific literacy. Science 1998;281:917
2. Mainshein et al.. Commentary: To the future; Arguments. Science Communication 1998;21:75-87
3. Zoloth L. The Ethics of the Eighth Day: Jewish Bioethics and Research on Human Embryonic stem Cells in The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2001. Holland, Lebacqz, and Zoloth eds.):95-111
4. McGee G and Caplan A. What’s in the Dish? Hastings Center Report 1999;29:36-8
   
5. Caplan A. Attack of the Ant-Cloners [Comment]. Nation June 17, 2002
6. Caplan A. Half a loaf is not good enough. Scientist Sept 17, 2001:6