Introduction: embryonic stem cell research, abortion, euthanasia, and the plurality of moralities in bioethics.

摘要

This third issue of the 36th volume of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy is a nonthematic issue. The first paper contained herein is "Embryonic Stem Cells and Property Rights" by Anna-Karin Andersson. Andersson argues that embryonic stem cells can, indeed, be used for genetic research even if it is the case that human embryos do have individual moral rights that ought to be respected by other moral agents. This seems at first glance to be a very puzzling claim. However, she argues this is the case because there is a temporal distinction between the intact embryo that possesses moral rights and the already destroyed embryo that no longer possesses any relevant moral rights and whose stem cells are to be utilized in research.