OxBlog

Tuesday, May 28, 2002

# Posted 7:03 AM by Anonymous  

IN AN OP-ED in the New York Times, Michael Sandel argues that the middle-ground position on using embryos for research is untenable. This position--holding that using soon-to-be discarded embryos left over from fertility clinics is morally justified since the the embryos will be destroyed either way--makes a dubious distinction. Of course, as Sandel argues, the means as well as the ends have moral content, but the argument tries to have it both ways. Indeed, it refuses to look at where the zygotes have come from--if it is morally objectionable to create embryos for the purpose of medical research, isn't it also objectionable to create them with the knowledge that they will likely not be used? This middle-ground position has been used as an easy escape for senators to squirm their way out of grappling with a politically-charged moral question.
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