Question

Which are the advantages and ethical problems with the using of ESC versus ASC?

Answer 1

he recent development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and related technologies has caught the attention of scientists, activists, politicians, and ethicists alike. IPSCs gained immediate international attention for their apparent similarity to embryonic stem cells after their successful creation in 2006 by Shinya Yamanaka and in 2007 by James Thompson and others. Although iPSCs may appear to solve the controversy over the destruction of embryos in embryonic stem cell (ESC) research by involving only the genetic reprogramming of somatic cells, further analysis of the new technique and its subsequent ethical issues could potentially lessen some ethical advantages iPSCs seemingly hold over ESCs.

ESC research is laden with ethical concerns, particularly regarding the ideas of personhood, human dignity, and justice toward humankind that arise from dealing with human life in one of its earliest forms, the embryo. It is a controversial international issue, and many governing bodies have either banned the research altogether or placed restrictions on what may be done with embryos and ESCs. Additional ethical concerns surrounding such research include informed consent, improper inducement, and health and safety risks for women donating eggs necessary for the creation of embryos via in-vitro fertilization. Though these issues do not exhaust the list of ethical considerations of ESC research, they represent the chief topics occupying those interested in its ethical aspects. iPSCs have been touted as ethically uncomplicated alternatives to ESCs, so the ethics surrounding iPSCs are largely evaluated in comparison to those involving ESCs.

If iPSCs turn out to be a useful alternative to ESC research, they will avoid the most significant concerns in feminist ethics surrounding the issue. Because no eggs are needed for iPSCs, there is no unequal burden on women for supplying the necessary cells for the technology. The egg donation process is often the most worrisome aspect of ESC research due to concerns for the women’s health during and after the invasive surgery; controversy over appropriate compensation for a sometimes painful and considerable health risk; and ethical disagreement over what essentially becomes the purchase of parts of the human body, or commodification. The use of iPSCs as an alternative to ESCs may eliminate both the health risks to the donor and the issues of appropriate compensation, as individuals would typically donate cells through a non-invasive procedure for research leading to the donor’s own therapeutic use.

Research to date indicates iPSCs may be very similar to ESCs, except for their origin and inability to generate the cell layers necessary for producing and directing development of a complete embryo. If iPSCs can be programmed to express the same potential as ESCs (including the development of the outer embryonic layers) as some scientists believe may be possible after further research, they could lose nearly all of their potential ethical high ground over natural ESCs. Although iPSCs would still eliminate considerable health risks to women, such a development would complicate the ethical battle over the definition and protection of human life and the acceptable reasons for its creation or destruction. Scientists and ethicists would have to decide whether creating a human embryo from iPSCs would change its degree of humanity or worthiness of legal protection. This confusion over the personhood of an iPSC-originated embryo could possibly be deterred by advanced regulation against attempting to reprogram an iPSC back to full embryonic potential. Without organizations to monitor and regulate such research in some nations, however, any embryonic potential iPSCs may possess could be discovered in the not-too-distant future.

If researchers do uncover full embryonic potential in iPSCs, the cloning controversy will also enter the mix, as the resulting cells would be exact genetic matches of their human d