Religion and Stem Cell Research
Many of the world’s religious leaders have opined about the moral acceptability of stem cell research. While research using adult or cord-blood stem cells is relatively uncontroversial, there is no consensus on the acceptability of using human embryos in research. Consequently, there is no consensus on the acceptability of deriving human embryonic stem cell (hES) lines or using those cell lines in research. There is also no consensus on whether somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) should be used to create hES lines with specific characteristics. Religious duties to 1) respect and protect human life because it is sacred, and 2) to prevent and alleviate human suffering, create tension in evaluating the moral acceptability of hES research from a religious perspective. A third religious duty to protect and promote distributive justice by providing access to therapies for all people creates boundaries or limits on acceptable stem cell research.
Articulated religious opinions about stem cell research primarily deal with the moral acceptability of hES research, based on whether blastocysts are viewed as persons. In moral philosophy a distinction is made between that which is human life, and human persons. Only human persons have moral status, and a right to life that goes with that status. As such others have a duty not to harm them. Human life, on the other hand, while mandating respect does not equate with personhood and all the rights to protection that go with it. Some religions accept this distinction while others do not. In the world’s major religions the permissibility of hES research varies tremendously and the controversy is almost entirely due to differing views on the moral status of the human embryo. It is important to note that without exception, groups within each of the major religions hold contrary views on the morality of hES research.