Blog 15

Following up on my “controversies within science” theme, I read an article about stem cell research. This, in my opinion, is one of the more well-known controversies in today’s society.  This article, Embryo Stem Cell Research: Ten Years of Controversy by John A. Robertson, describes the reasons for the battle on this research. Some see this research as a type of abortion, because of the destroying of the embryonic cells. Robertson goes into further explanation saying that one side views stem cell research as murder because the fertilized egg is considered a human being, with individual rights. The other side sees the fertilized egg as too undeveloped to be defended from scientists’ hands. Like all other controversial issues, there are two sides that debate about their personal moral beliefs. This article discusses ethics throughout history. On the religious standpoint, the article describes how “The drafters of the Declaration of Independence had various uneasy relationships with organized religion, but all agreed on the proposition that ‘all men are created equal’ and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, beginning with life” (Robertson 213). This can be argued since Caucasians enslaved African Americans back in those times. It’s quite interesting how people can have such high moral standards with some things, yet disregard some other things, such as enslavement…but I suppose this can be semi-explained from old ethics versus new ethics. This goes along with Dollhouse because in episode 6, people (with different ethics) gave different views on what they thought about the operation.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=939daeab-eeb0-40c4-9ee3-2e630a1246b0%40sessionmgr15&vid=12&hid=21