Embryology is the study of embryos and their development. Throughout history, scientists and the public have been debating the question of how far should the study of manual fertilized embryos go? The law that scientists have followed for decades has been the 14 day rule, meaning that a research group is only allowed to study an embryo from fertilization to Day 14, then they have to stop. This guideline is to be followed because after the 14 days, the embryo now begins to develop into a "life". I believe that the 14 day rule is a fit law that should be followed. However, I do believe that human embryo research is important and that the embryo should be allowed to be studied more in certain circumstances.
The 14 day rule makes sense to scientists and researches for many reasons. LeRoy Walters, a Director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics and has " published widely on genetic ethics, research ethics... and reviews human gene therapy protocols" ("LeRoy Walters - Intensive Bioethics Course"), was a witness for the Ethics Board when it was discussing about ethical guidelines for embryos. One reason Walters said that 14 days …show more content…
I believe that the 14 day law is helpful but can be extended in certain situations. If the embryo is just being fertilized for observing, the 14 day law should be abided since no benefits are coming from it. Although, if a scientist has planned out what they will do with the embryo or what they are trying to find out from the development process, the 14 day law may be stretched if the scientist has a strict evidence that his or her theory will work. Using these cells, scientists can benefit from them by using them to produce specialized cells, to research what goes wrong in a specific disease, or how they respond to certain drugs. Scientists should continue to use these embryotic cells for research, but abide or stretch the 14 day law when