The Science and Morality of Stem Cell Research

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The Science and Morality of Stem Cell Research
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CLONING CREATES HUMAN EMBRYOS

• The work was led by Dr. Woo Suk Hwang and Dr.
  Shin Yong Moon of Seoul National University and
  will be published tomorrow in the journal
  Science. The paper provides a detailed
  description of how to create human embryos by
  cloning. Experts in the field not involved with
  the work said they found the paper persuasive.

NY Times February 12, 2004
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First Bush Veto Maintains Limits on Stem Cell Use

After President Bush rejected a stem cell bill,
he held a news conference with babies who were
once considered leftover embryos in fertility
clinics.
New York Times July 20, 2006
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August 24, 2006Stem Cell News Could Intensify
Political Debate
New York Times August 24, 2006
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Amendment 2 A Moral Crisis for Missouri and Our
Nation

• Surely, the citizens of our state do not
  support government which denies the right to
  life, the most fundamental right, to a whole
  class of human beings, in order to advance the
  projects of a few.

St. Louis Review September 22, 2006
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August 2008No More Cloning Around

• Like many stem cell pioneers, Ian Wilmut, the
  creator of Dolly the sheep, has jumped to an
  alternative approach. Is this the beginning of
  the end for embryonic cloning?
• Scientific American August 2008

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Unit Project

• Create a brochure or pamphlet explaining basic
  facts about stem cells, research processes using
  stem cells, what processes the Missouri
  Constitution and federal law protects, and the
  teaching of the Catholic Church

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Horton Hears a Who

• Compare the plight of the Whose to the plight of
  the unborn
• Relate Hortons message to the teaching of the
  Catholic Church
• Know the teaching of the Catholic Church

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The Who on Hortons Dust Speck
A person is a person, no matter how small.
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Horton and the Church agree agreement.

• Blastocyst Stage of a Human Embryo
• Barely a Dust Speck

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Teaching of the Catholic Church

• The inalienable rights of the person must be
  recognized and respected by civil society and the
  political authority.
• Among such fundamental rights one should mention
  in this regard every human being's right to life
  and physical integrity from the moment of
  conception until death.
• (79) Catechism of the Catholic Church

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Lifes Greatest Miracle

• Exposure to the complexity involved in creating a
  human being
• Increase understanding of the humanity of the
  unborn

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Stem Cell Terminology and Processes
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What are stem cells?

• Unspecialized cells that have 2 important
  characteristics. (1) They can replicate
  indefinitely. (2) They can differentiate into
  cells with specific functions, such as heart
  cells or nerve cells.

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What are the sources of stem cells/

• There are 3 main types of stem cells
• (1) Adult stem cells
• (2) Embryonic stem cells
• (3) Induced pluripotent stem cells

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Adult Stem Cells

• Found in most adult tissues
• Also found in tissues of children
• Found in umbilical cord blood
• Found in placentas

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Embryonic Stem Cells

• Found in 4 to 5 day old embryos produced in
  fertility clinics
• Found in 4 to 5 day old embryos produced by a
  process called somatic cell nuclear transfer

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Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

• Derived from adult somatic cells
• Uses viruses to deliver three to four genes into
  an adult cell and to reprogram it back to its
  unspecialized state, enabling it to grow into any
  type of cell in the body.

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What are stem cell lines?

• A population of cells that can replicate
  indefinitely in vitro.
• In vitro means out of the body. They are
  cultured in labs.
• Stem cells have the ability to form different
  specialized cell types.
• There are approximately 60 stem cell lines in use

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What is therapeutic cloning?

• Replacing the nucleus of an egg cell with a
  nucleus of another cell from the body.
• It creates an embryo
• The embryo is then destroyed to harvest stem
  cells
• Its purpose is to create stem cells

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What is reproductive cloning?

• Replacing the nucleus of an egg cell with a
  nucleus of another cell from the body.
• It creates an embryo.
• The embryo is then implanted in the uterus of a
  female.
• Its purpose is to create and bring to birth a
  being genetically identically to the donor of the
  cells.
• If the cells are human, it is human cloning

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Dolly the Sheep

• Created using SCNT or reproductive cloning
• Used 270 embryos
• Died young Some speculate this happened because
  her cells were the age of the donor cells

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What is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)?
Another name for both reproductive and
therapeutic cloning
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What type of stem cell research does the federal
government allow?

• August 2001 President Bush limited the use of
  federal funds on embryonic stem cell research
• If research is federally funded, it can only use
  stem cells derived from lines already in
  existence
• These lines were derived from embryos in
  fertility clinics that were going to be discarded

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What is the teaching of the Catholic Church on
stem cell research?

• Adult stem cell research is morally acceptable.
• Embryonic stem cell research is morally
  acceptable if the cells were derived from germ
  tissues of a fetus that was miscarried. This
  would be like organ donation.
• iPS research is morally acceptalbe