legalities of stem cell research paper

7/28/2019 Legalities of Stem Cell Research Paper

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LEGALITIES OF STEM CELL RESEARCH

Introduction

Stem cell research may provide possible means to treat many challenging diseases,

including Parkinsons disease, Diabetes, and Heart Disease. Due to ethical problems it requires

legislation to control the use and spread of this technology especially the embryonic stem cell

research. There are no legal issues associated with the use of adult stem cells, or stem cells

isolated from umbilical cord blood. The legal debate involving stem cells varies from country to

country, particularly for therapeutic cloning. In this report, the legalities of United Kingdom,

European Union, United States, Asia and Africa in stem cell research will be discussed.

I. United Kingdom

The regulation of stem cell research in the United Kingdom is governed by the Human

Fertilization and Embryology Act of 1990. The use of embryos in stem cellresearch can only be

carried out with authority from the Human Fertilization and Embryo Authority (HFEA). Licensesare only granted if the HFEA is satisfied that any proposed use of embryos is absolutely

necessary for the purposes of the research. The license is granted only if the research is focused

on the following treatments:

To promote advances in the treatment of infertility To increase knowledge about the causes of congenital disease To increase knowledge about the causes of miscarriages To develop more effective techniques of contraception To develop methods for detecting the presence of gene or chromosome abnormalities To increase knowledge about the development of embryos To increase knowledge about serious disease To enable any such knowledge to be applied in developing treatments for serious disease

Under the Act, research on embryos older than 14 days is prohibited. The concern is

that some of the cloned embryos might be implanted into a surrogate mother and brought to

full term. Thus, the government introduced the Human Reproductive Cloning bill, which
http://www.hfea.gov.uk/cps/rde/xchg/hfeahttp://www.hfea.gov.uk/cps/rde/xchg/hfea


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proposed a ban on reproductive cloning, whereby an embryo is produced by nuclear transfer

and then carried to term by a surrogate mother, as done with Dolly. Thus, Human Reproductive

Cloning is illegal in the UK . In May of 2008 Parliament voted to allow experiments on animal-

human hybrid embryos.

II. European Union

The European Union (EU), which includes Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and

11 other European countries, agrees with U.K. position on reproductive cloning and has passed

laws to ban it. However, the EU strongly disagrees with the U.K. on the issue of therapeutic

cloning. Therapeutic cloning is performed, not to produce another organism, but to harvest

embryonicstem cellsfor use in medical treatments.

Austria, Ireland, Poland, and Lithuania prohibit all forms of stem cell research.

Germany and Italybanned the extraction of stem cells from human embryos, but research is

permitted on stem cell lines from other sources, created prior to certain dates and imported.

Belgium, Sweden and more recently Spain ban reproductive cloning but allow therapeutic

cloning of embryos.

Franceprohibits reproductive cloning and the creation of embryos for research purposes.

The European Union (EU), as a whole, allows ES cell research where it is permitted by local law.

III. United States

The state legal stance on stem cell research varies widely across the United States.

Again, the use of human embryonic stem cells is at the center of the debate. Some states have

embraced legislation to promote stem cell research, while others have banned all forms ofcloning and human embryonic stem cell research. This has essentially created 3 groups of state

positions on the legality of stem cell research: those actively encouraging all forms of stem cell

research, those outwardly banning it, and those with middle, sometimes ambiguous, ground

that allow specific types of human ES cell research. In states where ES research is legal, there

may or may not be state level funding available. In some states there is funding available, but

only for adult stem cell research.

It is currently illegal to use federal funds for any experiment that creates or destroys a human

embryo. Creating new embryos through cloning and destroying an embryo to create stem cells

is covered under this law as well. It is, however, legal to both clone and create humanembryonic stem cells with private funds.

IV. Asia

Japan, China, India, Singapore and South Korea all banned cloning for reproductive purposes,

but do permit cloning for therapeutic purposes.
http://www.pregnancy-info.net/Cord_Blood_Stem_Cells.htmlhttp://www.pregnancy-info.net/Cord_Blood_Stem_Cells.htmlhttp://www.pregnancy-info.net/Cord_Blood_Stem_Cells.htmlhttp://www.pregnancy-info.net/Cord_Blood_Stem_Cells.html


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V. Africa

The South African government had enacted legislation maintaining a ban on reproductive

cloning but authorizing the therapeutic cloning of embryos.

Conclusion

The promise of stem cell research offers society great hope to treat a variety of

previously incurable diseases. This hope also brings with it significant ethical concerns, thus

most countries enact laws to control the technology. It is important to establish clear,

consistent guidelines for stem cell research, particularly at the state or local level. Having

knowledgeable, representative oversight bodies to ensure strict adherence to the guidelines is

just as important.

legalities of stem cell research paper

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