Embryo Research

Muzna Al-Habsi
 Embryo research

Embryo research is the practicing on the human

embryo and the stem cells. The investigations are carried
out on left over embryos produced after in vitro
fertilization. During in vitro fertilization they stimulate the
women ovaries to produce eggs that will be fertilized by
her husband or any donor sperms. Then they select the
healthy embryos to implant into the women wombs. Some
of these embryo will develop to be a fetus and the others
will be frozen in the situation that there is fail in
fertilization they will use them or even it the couple want
another baby.

Creating embryo for a research purpose is relatively

easy by using IVF method, but the question her is should
we create embryo just for researches? This is a very
important point for the scientists who want to improve the
techniques of IVF by studying the fertilization process. It
is a complex issue because the embryo research is linked
with the stem cell research. They said that the stem cell
research require creation of embryo with a special
properties. “After more than twenty years of unrestricted
research on animal embryonic stem cells, this field has
failed to yield a single cure for any human illness.1

Some scientist said that we have to kill the embryo anyway because of
its stem cells benefits. The roles of the scientists are to tell us the truth
and the science behind the embryo from the ethical view. They did
agreement on the embryo science and from these agreements we have to
have ethical judgment:

1- Embryos have genetic information like human

2- The embryo will develop to a baby if it given a right environment
3- Embryo is very small. Even smaller than the full stop
4- Embryos are weak and cannot live without suitable environment
5- The frozen embryos (the extra ones) are unwanted and spare

1
Maureen Condic, “Stem Cells and False Hopes”, First Things, August/September 2002, pp 21-22.
International Policies on Embryo Research

Many countries struggled with how to make a rule

and policy for such issue. Some countries said that
embryo is something less than a full person, but that it
has a special connection with the human community such
that it deserves special respect in the form of limits and
restrictions on its use in research:

• Embryos and gametes must be donated with free and

informed consent.
• Systems for conflicts of interest management must be in
place for the procurement of gametes and embryos.
• The science must be valid and high quality (it must not
be frivolous).
• No animal models or animal embryos are adequate for
the research (human embryos are necessary, no other
embryo will do).
• The number of embryos is not excessive (they will not
be wasted).
• Research must take place within the first fourteen days
after fertilisation (not including any time frozen), after
which the embryo must be destroyed. This is to avoid
using embryos after the first appearance of the primitive
streak, which is the precursor to brain development. The
primitive streak appears sometime around day 21 and not
before day 17.
• Review of research protocols, by research ethics boards
(REBs in Canada) is required. Embryo research protocols
are almost always subject to review, to determine a
number of the issues around scientific validity, necessity
of human embryos, etc. Such review keeps unnecessary
destruction of embryos to an absolute minimum –
something that is important not just for ethical reasons,
but also to maintain public support of embryo research

There are several ethical issues concerning IVF

children. In what is the point an IVF children have human
rights? In a normal pregnancy can human rights be given
to the child in an embryo stage. Is it right to create,
freezing, and discard the embryos? If abortion is wrong,
how to justify the IVF? The human right be created and not
manufactured artificially. So should we make people in
this artificial way is another question to be answered. In
addition, couples who do not have children, adopt
unfortunate. Why do more children to be created
artificially?

References

Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation

of Human Embryo Research Amendment Act 2006.
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/Legislation/Act1.nsf/0/
71AC9EAE45677788CA2572440012F18A/$file/1722006.pdf

Dame Ruth Deech DBE Principal, St Anne's College Oxford, “Science,

Ethics and the Precautionary Principle: Embryo Research in Britain”,
November 20-23, 2003

Michael Cook, “The ethics of research on embryos”, 19 September

2002

By Lori P. Knowles, “ The use of Human Embryos in Stem Cell

Research”

http://www.sci-soc.net/SciSoc/Projects/Genomics/Doing
%2Bembryo%2Bethics.htm