Overview:

With the emergence of stem cell research, a contentious and strong debate began in the 1990s and 2000s. The IU Center for Bioethics at Indian University School of Medicine published two reports in the early 2000s about both embryonic stem cell research and adult stem cell research.

The most debated topic in stem cell research has been the use of embryonic stem cells. With the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research in the United States, much of the debate has seemingly quieted in the public dialogue and in the media. The progress of induced pluripotent stem cell research has also lessened the debate around embryonic stem cell research.

This page provides resources pertaining to the modern debate of stem cell research and offers historical documentation of the debate for stem cell research

Ethical Analysis:

Content Needed

General Readings:

2015

Research ethics and stem cells. Caulfield, T., Kamenova, K., Ogbogu, U., Zarzeczny, A., Baltz, J., Benjaminy, S., … Toews, M. (2015). EMBO Reports, 16(1), 2–6.

Stem cell hype: media portrayal of therapy translation. Kamenova, K., & Caulfield, T. (2015). Science translational medicine, 7(278), 278ps4-278ps4.

The moral imperative to continue gene editing research on human embryos. Savulescu, J., Pugh, J., Douglas, T., & Gyngell, C. (2015). Protein & Cell, 6(7), 476-479.

2014

Ethical issues in stem cell research and therapy. King, N. M., & Perrin, J. (2014). Stem cell research & therapy, 5(4), 85.

Ethical, legal and practical issues of establishing an adipose stem cell bank for research. West, C. C., Murray, I. R., González, Z. N., Hindle, P., Hay, D. C., Stewart, K. J., & Péault, B. (2014). Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 67(6), 745-751.

2013

Scientific and ethical issues related to stem cell research and interventions in neurodegenerative disorders of the brain [link to http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301008213000397]. Barker, R. A., & de Beaufort, I. (2013). Progress in neurobiology, 110, 63-73.

Ethical and legal issues arising in research on inducing human germ cells from pluripotent stem cells. Ishii, T., Pera, R. A. R., & Greely, H. T. (2013). Cell Stem Cell, 13(2), 145-148.

Banking human induced pluripotent stem cells: lessons learned from embryonic stem cells? Stacey, G. N., Crook, J. M., Hei, D., & Ludwig, T. (2013). Cell Stem Cell, 13(4), 385-388.

Center Reports on Stem Cells 

•  Diverse Perspectives: Considerations About Embryonic Stem Cell Research

•  Report of the Indiana University School of Medicine Task Force on Establishing an Adult Stem Cell Research Center

Translational Research Ethics Consult

The Bioethics and Subject Advocacy Program of the Indiana CTSI provides consultations to help clarify and address ethical issues that arise when conduction translational research