Ethical arguments for and against using fertilized fetuses for donor tissue

¶ … Total)

Paragraph in Support of Using Fertilized Fetuses for Donor Tissue

The use of artificially fertilized human fetuses for donor tissues can probably be accomplished in ways that do not raise any legitimate ethical concerns (Sagan, 2007). That process would require appropriate laws and protocols of medical ethics to ensure that tissues cultivated this way would be harvested and used before the fetus is capable of sensing pain. If fetal development beyond that point were necessary, ethical practice would require anesthetizing the fetus to avoid causing any pain. It would also be advisable to prohibit or at least strictly limit the circumstances in which such procedures could be used. For example, it might be ethically appropriate to cultivate organs this way to save lives but not to generate profit from the sale of human tissue (Sagan, 2007).

Paragraph in Opposition to Using Fertilized Fetuses for Donor Tissue

The use of artificially fertilized human fetuses for donor tissues cannot be accomplished in ways that do not raise serious ethical concerns. The principle ethical objection is as much about the exploitation of the fetus created solely for this purpose as it is about physical pain (Levine, 2008).