This volume brings together essays by an internationally distinguished and diverse group of scholars. Contributors thoughtfully explore the ethical, public policy, and scientific implications of embryonic and adult stem cell research.

Part one of the book offers a variety of scientific and public policy perspectives, including essays on stem cell plasticity and using umbilical cord blood as an alternative source of pluripotent stem cells. Part two vigorously examines the ethics of stem cell research and considers issues of social justice, morality, and public policy. Scientific alternatives, a natural law perspective regarding federal funding, and a discussion of the possible moral complicity of Catholic researchers are among the distinctive contributions made to the stem cell research debate by this collection.

The objective and balanced discussions contained in this volume serve as an accessible introduction to the bioethical questions, issues, and problems surrounding stem cell research.

About the Author

Nancy E. Snow is professor of philosophy at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Reviews

"This collection covers a broad range of scientific, ethical, and public policy issues. Some articles provide general background and information, while others make highly original contributions to the ongoing debate. Ethical issues are discussed knowledgeably from a variety of religious and philosophical perspectives. Thoughtful disagreements among authors illustrate the difficulty of reaching a consensus on public policy." -Carol A. Tauer, Professor of Philosophy Emerita, The College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN

"In the book, Stem Cell Research, Nancy Snow provides a collection of essays that discuss different aspects of the stem cell debate. This is an important endeavor. . ." -Dialogue

". . . this collection of essays is sure to speak to readers on either side of this divisive issue." -NationalJournal.com

"[Stem Cell Research] provides a useful primer for many. . . of the ethical issues presented by the embryonic stem cell debate." -The Quarterly Review of Biology

"This collection is an important resource for any bioethics course." -Theological Studies

". . . so volatile and dynamic are the variables in the debates over this type of research, it would be a mistake not to look upon it as having lasting value. The authors are attentive to cutting edge science to be sure, but they effectively raise up time-tested principles from biomedical ethics and the natural law tradition in an effort to weigh the pros and cons." -Catholic Library World

"Snow's volume is earnest . . . a plea for ethically informed science." -Times Literary Supplement

". . . the contributions are thought-provoking and the arguments need to be addressed by proponents of the research." -Conscience

"This volume is a collection of ten essays developed out of a 2001 conference . . . the gathering convened scientists and ethicists to discuss scientific, public policy, and ethical issues concerning human stem cell research . . . the essays offer a wide range of topics, analyses, and arguments, and, as a whole, exhibit some of the complexity of issues involved in discussing human stem cell research-human embryonic stem cell research in particular. As such, the volume is an excellent introduction to the nuanced contours of this contentious realm." -Pro Ecclesia

Book Information
ISBN 9780268017781
Author Nancy E. Snow
Format Paperback
Page Count 230
Imprint University of Notre Dame Press
Publisher University of Notre Dame Press
Weight(grams) 273g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 12mm