Stem Cell Research: On Again, Off Again

August 24, 2010 · Leave a comment

Industry Insights from Paul Meade, M. Sc, MPH

Just last week, the Mayo Clinic announced landmark research regarding the use of stem cells to repair damaged heart tissue. A significant breakthrough for people with heart damage is finally on the horizon, which will impact millions of people across the globe. But only a week later, a judge has ruled that, under the law passed by former President George W. Bush banning the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, the use of destroyed embryos from fertility clinics violates a federal statute. Once again, the medical research community has had to deal with yet another setback with regard to the use of stem cells.

The opponents of stem cell research claim that using an embryo that has been destroyed by a fertility clinic to obtain stem cells amounts to “taking a human life.” It seems rather puzzling that some people, who devote their entire lives to doing good and serving the needy, stop short of allowing the medical research community to achieve significant advances in eliminating diseases because of an endless battle to define life. Many devoutly religious people travel to developing nations to become missionaries and offer help to those in need, yet they can somehow overlook the tremendous good from stem cell research that can help the medically disadvantaged. Of course, ... read more »

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Ethics of Gene Therapy to Dominate Healthcare Landscape for Years to Come

June 3, 2010 · 1 comment

Industry Insights from Paul Meade, M. Sc, MPH

During my recent studies for an ethics certificate, I encountered several ethical issues that stimulated my thinking about the future of healthcare.

I would like to address an ethical issue that I feel will dominate the healthcare landscape for the next several decades, in the area of genetics.

With the completion of the Human Genome Project and the mapping of mankind’s blueprint of life, we are beginning to gain a greater understanding of what makes us human. One logical extension of this “knowledge of life” is the ability to control or manipulate life itself. Gene therapy will give us the ability to not only modify our genetic predisposition to diseases, but also to enhance lifestyle abilities. No one would argue the ability to change one base-pair and eliminate Huntington’s disease from an unborn child, but how far is one willing to go to be taller, more athletic, have a gift of music, or become a genius. Who will decide what genetic alterations are acceptable to a society? And who will qualify to have such manipulations—only those that can afford to pay?

The ability to manipulate our genome is the ability to control human evolution itself. No more will we need to rely on random chance and Darwinian principles, such as natural selection–we will be able ... read more »

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