Embryos investigation.

Recently the Spanish representative chamber passed a law that allows the use of unused frozen embryos for artificial insemination in Cell Biology investigation. This means unclaimed embryos from couples that no longer used needed them were frozen in clinics and hospitals without a real objective, there was just no legislation about destroying or using them, so all those were in a legally frozen state.

Now the legislation has affected in some aspects to the practical extreme of insemination for couples with fertility problems (because it has stablished a limit of fecundations per year) but has opened the way for investigation with these embryos and undiferentiated cells, which can become specialist cells, just like those of complex organs.

So we have a way to investigate on the creation of cloned replacement organs. The questionable aspects of this are several, but mainly these:

1.) Are we talking about using a living being to perform experiments?

2.) The acces to this technology, were the experiments succesful, would open a new breach among the privileged (or rich or favoured by the state, etc.) and the common people due to Organ Cloning Insurance Programs?

3.) Was the case that the acces to this tech. was wide open, at least in First World countries, would you consider moral aspects about using it?

I will give my opinion later, first please tell me yours.

Hmmm....

That is a difficult question Bio?

If i am right an embryo is techincally alive but cannot voice itself as it has yet to develop????

I know that this type of experimentation is being used but even if they are unused for IVF treatment...then they should be destroyed as many complications can come from the long term freeze!!!!

Will get back to you on this one!

Do you have a link to this story??

Well, I could find some of them but unfortunately most are in Spanish, although if you want to see them I will post the links.

Then, my opinion about this:

1.) A human embryo is human and living but it�s not a human being the same way as when you take cells from a burnt person to make cultures of skin cells that will help him. Those cells are living and human in origin but not a human life "per se". It�s mostly a philosophical problem of category. I don�t think you are using a living being in the same way you could talk about the Nazi experimentation with Jews and Slavs in concentration camps.

2.) It would open a new big breach among those who could pay the money for the insurance programs and those who not. If you could you would be able to do anything risky for your life without taking much care for the consequences, while if you could not afford any of it you should have to be like you always were, cautious and even meek.

3.) I would definitely not pay much atention to moral problems with this technology: if I could use it to solve any kind of physical problem I had I would use it, no doubt.