Chris Ahmad
Phil 116
Paper #1
Human embryos are organisms in early stages of life, typically the first to eighth week of development, and are created by the fertilization of an egg with a sperm. In terms of the argument at hand, early embryos are of interest (14 days after fertilization). They can be obtained in numerous ways and are useful in many types of research, especially medical treatment, due to the fact that they are a source of pluripotent stem cells that are able to divide into many types of cells. Bonnie Steinbock argues that stem cell research isn’t determined solely by moral status and that though the specific embryos discussed do not have moral status, they do have moral value, thus need to be dealt with respectfully (Steinbock …show more content…
According to Steinbock, both theories claim that embryos lack moral status. It doesn’t matter what idea we adopt when discussing the moral status of an embryo. According to Steinbock, both theories claim that embryos lack moral status. Yet this doesn’t necessarily mean we can treat them however we like. Steinbocks states that a HERP report states that even though human embryos don’t have moral status like young humans (infants or toddlers), they still deserve respect and solemn moral consideration because of the fact that embryos are regarded as a developing form of Homo sapiens life (Steinbock 433). They may lack moral status, but they have moral value. An entity has moral value when it has reasons to treat it in particular ways and not in other ways. In the case of embryos, it has the potential to become a fully developed human and that is why Stenbock is correct in stating that embryos should be respected because of their importance (Steinbock
Phil 116
Paper #1
Human embryos are organisms in early stages of life, typically the first to eighth week of development, and are created by the fertilization of an egg with a sperm. In terms of the argument at hand, early embryos are of interest (14 days after fertilization). They can be obtained in numerous ways and are useful in many types of research, especially medical treatment, due to the fact that they are a source of pluripotent stem cells that are able to divide into many types of cells. Bonnie Steinbock argues that stem cell research isn’t determined solely by moral status and that though the specific embryos discussed do not have moral status, they do have moral value, thus need to be dealt with respectfully (Steinbock …show more content…
According to Steinbock, both theories claim that embryos lack moral status. It doesn’t matter what idea we adopt when discussing the moral status of an embryo. According to Steinbock, both theories claim that embryos lack moral status. Yet this doesn’t necessarily mean we can treat them however we like. Steinbocks states that a HERP report states that even though human embryos don’t have moral status like young humans (infants or toddlers), they still deserve respect and solemn moral consideration because of the fact that embryos are regarded as a developing form of Homo sapiens life (Steinbock 433). They may lack moral status, but they have moral value. An entity has moral value when it has reasons to treat it in particular ways and not in other ways. In the case of embryos, it has the potential to become a fully developed human and that is why Stenbock is correct in stating that embryos should be respected because of their importance (Steinbock