Stem Cell On-Going Debate

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The information on this page is simply to share information on the internet what Adventist professionals, the Adventist Church, and other professionals say on Stem Cell Research.  You will need to read and form your own opinion. 

1. "Broader Religious Input Needed in Stem Cell Debate, Says Adventist Ethicist" (Adventist News Network, August 2001) Publicity surrounding the meeting between United States President George Bush and Pope John Paul II regarding the ethics of stem cell research has obscured the wide range of other religious views on the issue, says Dr. Gerald R. Winslow, a Seventh-day Adventist ethicist.

2. Statement on Ethical Considerations Regarding Human Cloning Official Adventist Statement Cloning includes all those processes by which living plants or animals are replicated by asexual means—methods that do not involve the fusion of egg and sperm. Many natural processes are forms of cloning.

3. A Seventh-day Adventist Statement Concerning Human Gene Therapy Recent advances in medicine and genetic technology make it possible to treat human disease by altering the genes in cells of the sufferer. Though the methods of the emerging field of genetic medicine are still under development, the pace of clinical trials and recent advances suggests that gene therapy will become a common and versatile medical option.

4. "Status of the Embryo at the Heart of the Debate" "On one side you have this great value of saving life and improving health," said Tom Shepherd, a professor of religion and ethics at Union College. "On the other side you have this issue of the status of the fetus (or embryo)."

5. "Loma Linda University ethicists respond to embryo stem cell research proposal" (February 17, 2000) A recent proposal for guidelines for embryo stem cell research by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) has prompted a response from two Loma Linda University ethicists, asking for ethically responsible science.

6. "Previous studies have shown that treatment with bone marrow cells is feasible after a heart attack", according to the report published in The Lancet. However, because of how these studies were designed, they could not determine if such therapy actually improved heart function. 

7. Religion, politics and the battle over bioethics How much should religious and moral interests affect national science policy? The morality of scientific and medical research has always been a concern, but recent legislation, court rulings and government policies on abortion, stem cell research and homosexuality have intensified the debate.

8. "Current Creation Questions: The Test of Human Cloning" Spectrum Autumn 2002  It may come as a surprise to some that the Seventh-day Adventist Church gave serious attention to the ethics of human cloning years before the debate reached its recent, national crescendo.

9. "Stem Cell Decision not the End of Ethical Dilemmas" As a scientist involved in the study of Alzheimer’s disease, I have followed with interest the debate on the use of embryonic stem cells. The research community is divided and passionate voices speak on both sides of the issue.