Embryology Flashcards
(18 cards)
What is IVF
In-vitro fertilisation is the process of making sperm fertilise the egg not inside a human (as with normal baby-making), but in glass (a petri dish)
PGT
Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing (Diagnosis) is a technique that enables people with a specific inherited condition in their family to avoid passing it on to their children. It involves checking the genes of embryos created through IVF for this genetic condition
Saviour Sibling
a child who is born through selective IVF and made to be compatible with a seriously ill sibling. To give an organ, cells or tissue, to a sibling that is affected with a fatal disease (e.g. Cancer) which is best treated by stem cell transplantation
Genetic Testing
The embryo is examined to check for heritable diseases and either accepted
or rejected based on this, but it is not changed
Genetic Modification
The genes in the embryo are changed so that “improvements” are made
Pure Research
research with no specific therapeutic aim. Its purpose is to further human
understanding and may lead to developing therapies in the future, but not necessarily
Stem cells
is the use of embryonic stem cells to create identical human tissue of some
description, from skin to brain cells
Moral Issues with Embryology
- It interferes with God’s plan for life
- Economic inequalities
- Slippery slope to designer babies
and eugenics - Is an embryo considered a person?
When does life begin? - Spare embryos are discarded
- Genetic selection
devalues the lives of
disabled people
In what ways are embryos used
- In vitro fertilisation
- PGT
- Stem cells
- Pure research
- Genetic modification
- Saviour siblings
- Genetic selection
Utilitarian views
- enabling childless couples to have children, thus increasing their potential happiness and that of their family and friends
- minimising suffering/pain of the majority for example
families suffering from inherited genetic illnesses like
Hunter’s Syndrome - the consequences benefit humanity as a whole —including future generations by eliminating inherited diseases
- difficulties in predicting the consequences of embryo
research, unleashing diseases and mutations that will affect
future generations
Advantages of utilitarian view
- Allows us to make decisions that hopefully will be good for the masses
- Encourages moral decisions that will reduce suffering. Finding cures for diseases will bring lots of pleasure to society.
- believe the potential benefits of embryology give humanity as a whole great hope for the future.
Disadvantages of utilitarian view
- We can only ever guess the of consequences of our actions so we can’t ever really know whether the use of embryos will bring about more pleasure than pain.
- Utilitarianism allows us to do bad things to a small number of people so long as it brings about pleasure to the majority. This is a bad principle. Is the embryo a human who is being used to bring about happiness to the majority?
- The term ‘spare embryos’ already shows a disrespect towards them - if the term was replaced by ‘developing human’ it’s unlikely that people be so willing to experiment on them and then destroy them.
Non-religious views
- If using embryos led to a society which was less caring of “more vulnerable life”,
e.g., people with disabilities, then that
is unlikely to be beneficial for the majority and so NOT morally acceptable - If using embryos is likely to lead to greater good for the majority then it
would be morally acceptable to
use an embryo
Humanism views
- huge benefit to humanity if we find cures to inherited diseases
- the embryo doesn’t have personhood no self-awareness/ability to feel pain
- existing life is more important than potential life
- good consequences outweigh the bad —it can alleviate suffering
- it could lead to devaluing the diversity of life —human’s characteristics could be
selected/eliminated till humans become very similar (slippery slope argument) - designer babies creating a two-tier social system —those designed and those created naturally
Religious views (Christian)
- Believe and embryo is fully human from conception
- Believe life is special and a gift from God, and only God can meddle with it
- some believe embryos can be researched on to help stop suffering, but only under strict circumstances
Advantages of Christian view
- A Christian response is that society is encouraged to protect those who are weak. The church speaks up for those who can’t speak.
- The Christian view encourages that money be spent on other areas of research that will be beneficial to humanity without any moral dilemma e.g. adult stem cell research or finding cures for diseases rather than ‘selecting out potentially disabled babies’.
- Limiting or banning the screening of embryos prevents society from going down the line of eugenics - trying to create a ‘flawless’ master race. The Christian view promotes the value of the individual regardless of their physical ability or disability.
Disadvantages of Christian view
- Beliefs about God and the soul can’t be proved true so shouldn’t form the basis of science. The Christians can have their view, but it shouldn’t influence scientific discovery
- Since genetic selection involves discarding embryos many Christians disapprove of it but genetic selection has the potential to reduce suffering so it should be allowed.
- How do we know when life really begins? The Christian view encourages us to be cautious for no good reason and this prevents progress.
Buddhist views on use of embryos
- Principal of Ahmisa says to do no harm, therefore against discarding embryos furing IVF and PGT
- Buddhism places emphasis on intention, so many believe that research on embryos done properly with good intentions is ok
- Buddhists want to be as compassionate as possible, therefore research on embryos to stop others from suffering from inherited conditions could be seen as compassionate and right
