English Discourse Site Menu:
  ENGLISH DISCOURSE HOME  |  ENGLISH DISCOURSE IN COMPOSITION  |     ENGLISH DISCOURSE IN RESEARCH  |     ENGLISH DISCOURSE IN LITERATURE  |     TEACHING ENGLISH COMPOSITION  |   TEACHING SHAKESPEARE |  TEACHING INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE  |  EDITORIAL CONTACTS  |   ABOUT US  |     QUICK-LINKS TO ALL JOURNAL ARTICLES   |   QUICK-LINKS TO ENGLISH DISCOURSE TEACHING HANDOUTS   |   RENAISSANCE AND 17TH CENTURY LINKS  |   RECOMMENDED SITES  |   SITE MAP  |   RECIPROCAL LINKS PROGRAM  |


Stem Cell Research as an Advancement for the Human Race:
An Annotated Bibliography
Brittani Thomason
Academic affiliation: Oklahoma State University
©Read the copyright notice at the bottom of this page
before reproducing this essay/webpage on paper,
or electronically, or in any other form.


Bok, Hilary. "Justice, Ethnicity, and Stem-Cell Banks." The Lancet 364.9429 (2004): 118. This article is written to discuss the strategies of stem cell research. It is clearly in favor of such research. The two different types of strategies it refers to are the coverage maximizing strategy, criticizing it for not being accessible to the greatest number of ethnicities, and the ethnic-representation strategy, which is criticized for covering fewer people overall. It then moves into arguments for the ethnic-representation strategy, claiming one of which can be met by the coverage-maximizing strategy. It defines the problem with the coverage-maximizing strategy as being "that it exacerbates health disparities between ancestral/ethnic groups in the country for which a stem cell bank is being designed." Overall this article is decent, but is not enough to argue with in a scholarly paper. "Ethical Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research." Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 14.1 (2004): 47-54. The article contains, of course ethical guidelines for stem cell research. Article 1 of the guidelines covers the definition of what a stem cell is and what stem cell research consists of (in brief). Article 2 covers the different classifications of the cells. Article 3 discusses the fact that there is moral debate over the ethicalness of the research. Article 5, (beneficence and saving life), Article 6 (respect and autonomy), Article 7 (Harmlessness and benefit), Article 8 (being informed and consent), and Article 9 (Prudence and confidentiality) are the most important of the listed guidelines. The article goes on to give 11 more guidelines. This article is written on a scholarly level; by this I am implying it is written more or less for a person who is college, possibly high school, level educated.

Cohen, Cynthia B. "Stem Cell Research in the U.S. after the President's Speech of August 2001." Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 14.1 (2004): 97-114. This journal article includes such topics as the availability of embryonic stem cell lines to federally funded researchers, in reference to President Bush's allowance of the distinction between the "derivation" and the "use" of embryos. It also broaches ethical issues raised by alternate sources of stem cell lines; such as, germ cells, adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells created through In-Vitro fertilization solely for research, embryonic stem cells created through research cloning, and etc. This article also discusses emerging ethical and policy issues related to stem cell research, concerning the moral status of early embryos, the creation of chimeras, regulatory and patent issues, and etc. This article is a very in-depth analysis of the policies enacted by Congress and the President concerning stem cell research.

Okarma, Thomas B. "Human Embryonic Stem Cells: A Primer on the Technology and Its Medical Applications." The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy. Eds. Suzanne Holland, Karen Lebacqz, and Laurie Zoroth. Cambridge: The MIT P, 2001. 6-13. This excerpt focuses on the breakthrough of stem cell research and its potential concerning regenerative medicine. It defines the significance of this research as "broadening the definition of medical therapy from simply halting the progression of acute or chronic disease to include the restoration of lost organ function." It identifies the many uses of stem cells, such as: drug toxicity testing, regenerative medicine, cardiomyocytes for heart disease, islet cells for diabetes patients, neural cells for neurologic disease, and other medical applications. It also points out the fact that there are many problems yet to be solved. As wells as, spending a short time on human embryonic stem cells and society. Overall, this is a very good resource due to its wonderful critique of stem cell research.

Knoepffler, Nikolaus. "Stem Cell Research: An Ethical Evaluation of Policy Options." Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 14.1 (2004): 55-74. The author begins by defining the different forms of stem cells. He then lists the different ways embryonic stem cells can be harvested, and also includes eight policy options to consider when harvesting the stem cells. He then presents an examination of the main arguments for the different options. The then informs the audience that it did not "yield a clear result." He then concludes the article by presenting the audience with a question asking why there should be discussion on the "ethical question of which option(s) should be permitted, if reality already has decided the direction in which to move?", and goes on to answer that a different direction can always be taken. This article is very thorough, and will be very helpful in my research.

Sas, Daryl. "Reliance on Technology: Stem Cell Research and Beyond." Cutting Edge Bioethics: A Christian Exploration of Technologies and Trends. Ed. Kilner, John F., C. Christopher Hook, and Diann B. Uustal. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002. 82-89. This is a highly religious excerpt that evaluates the necessity of stem cell research for today's society. It accuses technology of being used to exploit, rather than for the better good of the people. It focuses much on the life and wellbeing of the embryo. It does not regard technology as being evil, but as being put to a negative use. It does, however, admit that "a fully-developed Christian perspective on technology is beyond the scope of this chapter." This article argues against stem cell research, but does not seem to have a strong enough argument against it.

Shannon, Thomas A. "Human Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy." Theological Studies 62.4 (2001): 811-24. This article presents an outline of three issues intertwined with the ethics of embryonic stem cell therapy, and a consideration of two public policy issues. The article makes light of scientific issues and how one problem with the debate is that research concerning the issue is still in the beginning stages. He, however, does not believe that research on embryonic stem cells should not be carried out. On the other hand, he does feel that if the research does go forward, that it should be performed under supervision. This is a very in-depth article, and does well to debate the controversy of stem cell research.

"Report 5 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A-03) Full Text: Cloning and Stem Cell Research." American Medical Association. 9 June 2003. 10 Oct 2004. <http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/2036-8616.html>. This on-line website provides background on stem cell research, informing the reader that stem cells came into existence over 40 years ago. It predicts for stem cells to "hold great promise for treating a wide variety of human diseases as well as answering some basic biological questions regarding development." The site also includes information on cord blood stem cells, and their uses. It also informs the reader of related advances in stem cell research, citing such procedures as: a noninvasive imaging technique and the use of endothelial stem cells as an index to assess cardiovascular risk in patients without known cardiovascular disease. This is an informative and reliable resource.

Walters, LeRoy. "Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research an Intercultural Perspective." Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 14 (2004): 3-38. This article is written on a college level. It encompasses the different views on stem cell research concerning policies by region. The regions surveyed were Europe, the Middle East (consisting of Israel and Iran), Asia and the Pacific Rim (consisting of China, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, India, and South Korea), Australia, and North America (consisting of Canada, the United States, and Mexico). It also discussed the United Nations global debate about human cloning, which was divided into two subtopics: human reproductive cloning and HESC research involving human somatic cell nuclear transfer into human eggs. The article also covered religious traditions and HESC research. These religions included Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Christianity (consisting of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestant Traditions). The last issue the article discussed was the possible correlations between religious traditions and national or cultural views.

Wertz, Dorothy C. "Embryo and Stem Cell Research: Views form the USA." Journal of Commercial Biotechnology 8.3 (2002): 200-08. This article basically starts out by criticizing the US for being more concerned with "the fate of the embryo, which must be destroyed to derive the stem cells, than the use of cloning techniques." The author then explains the three cultural factors that underlie the differences between the UK and the USA. She telling the audience that first the US is a religious nation, second she names the anti-abortion movement, and third she cites the high value placed upon free enterprise. The article then moves to the ethical issues and religious views surrounding the research. It also touches upon the subject of creating embryos for research, discussing such points as "playing God, destroying created embryos, and the effects on the women who 'donate' eggs." This short, but well written article is concise and makes a strong point that stem cell research should be allowed. This article is important because it discusses the cultural barriers of stem cell research.


Search English Discourse
Google
WWW English Discourse

Copyright notice: this page will hereafter be referred to as the essay/webpage. All rights to the essay/webpage are held by its author. You may hyperlink to the essay/webpage electronically and without notifying either English Discourse—the e-journal or the author of the essay/webpage, but hyperlinks are allowed only for non-commercial and educational use. The essay/webpage may not otherwise be reproduced in hard-copy, electronically, or any other form, unless the written permission of its author is obtained prior to such reproductions. If you do link to the essay/webpage, part of the text in the hyperlink must contain the words "English Discourse—the e-journal".

You may quote from the essay/webpage, but only if the author and English Discourse—the e-journal are unmistakably cited in parenthetical citations and works cited page, endnotes, footnotes, bibliography page, or references page citations.

You may not otherwise copy or transmit the contents of the essay/webpage either electronically or in hard copies. You may not alter the content of the essay/webpage in any manner. If you are interested in using the contents of the essay/webpage in any manner except as described above, please contact "webmaster" at "englishdiscourse.org" for information on publishing rights, and the editor will arrange contact between your organization and the author of the essay/webpage. English Discourse—the e-journal, suggests that such emails should include a subject heading that reads "editorial contact," or "publishing rights." English Discourse—the e-journal will not act as an agent or accept any fees. The essay/webpage is the intellectual property of its author, who retains sole rights. The author has merely granted permission for English Discourse—the e-journal to publish the essay/webpage.