• Question: What is your opinion on embryonic stem cell research? Do you think it is ethical?

    Asked by anon-246568 to Megan, Katherine, Jesse, Dave, AJ on 9 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Jesse Dykes

      Jesse Dykes answered on 9 Mar 2020:

      I suppose the question is when is a thing alive and when isn’t it. Even then, we humans happily kill lots of things which are alive, such as bacteria and fungi. Is that ethical? Is it different because embryonic cells could grow into something more, while bacterial cells will not? I’m very glad that I don’t have to answer these questions in my work.

    • Photo: Arjuna James

      Arjuna James answered on 10 Mar 2020:

      I don’t know enough about it to have an opinion to be honest. Whether it’s ethical or not probably comes down to whether you consider a 4/5 day old embryo as ‘human’. It’s a difficult sell but I think the research will inevitably continue.

    • Photo: Megan Maunder

      Megan Maunder answered on 10 Mar 2020:

      I don’t know enough about it to have an opinion. Science always comes with some uncertainty and ethical issues. In the UK we have really tight regulations and huge panels to deliberate this.

    • Photo: Dave Constable

      Dave Constable answered on 10 Mar 2020:

      This isn’t something that I know a lot about. From what I have read, it seems as if there are lots of potential benefits from their research. Just today, I read about someone who has been free of HIV for two and a half years after treatment with stem cells. Even a few years ago, this might seem like science-fiction. As the others have said though, I’m glad I don’t have these decisions to make.

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