Introduction
Stem cells are biological cells found in all multi cellular organisms which have a unique feature in that they have a remarkable potential to self renew and form other specialized types of cells and in addition, they are able to produce more stem cells found in the human body.
Scientist confirmed the existence of three different types of stem cell which are; the embryonic stem cell, adult stem cell and the induced stem cell. Among these three stem cells, the embryonic stem cells are regarded as the cells with the highest potential because they can cell divide themselves to form over 220 different types of cells in the human body.
Ethically, destruction of an embryo presents a moral problem because it involves having to favor one important principle over another important principle. These two principles involve alleviating human suffering while on other hand upholding and respecting the value of human life.
The truth is that the two principles cannot be all together respected given the evidence that in order to alleviate suffering to an individual, another individual has to give up living in order for it to be possible to harvest human embryonic stem cells and this clearly violates the value of human life. Those who oppose consider a human embryo being a human being and that life begins immediately after conception hence destruction of a human embryo is perceived as being morally repugnant.
Body
Kant was essentially concerned with pointing out that morality, as the freedom to choose between right and wrong, is achievable in this materialistic world. Since morality needs freedom, and freedom can be attributed only to our practical reason, or will, therefore one can only act in a moral way by submitting themselves to the demands of the will.
Kant referred to this as autonomy. In Kant’s own words, “Autonomy of the will is the property that the will has of being a law to itself. [Morality] is the relation of actions to the autonomy of the will […]. That action which is compatible with the autonomy of the will is permitted; that which is not compatible is forbidden”.1
Kant was of the view that the demands of practical reason are shared by every rational being. This puts our moral principles to the test. For human beings to act with autonomy, they must conduct themselves in accordance to rules which may have been chosen autonomously by whichever rational agent. Precisely, the needs of the moral law are universal.
According to Kant, every moral statement must be both universal as well as willed to be universal. If they are not then they go against the Law of Nature, and if they cannot be willed to be universal, they go against the Law of the Will. The tenet ‘use spare embryos for stem cell research’ is universal hence does not go against the Law of Nature.
But the tenet ‘create embryos for stem cell research’ is not universal since there would not be any embryo’s left to develop into humans – the human race would run the risk of being extinct. This goes against the Law of Nature. Embryo research may not be willed to be universal hence it could be perceived to go against the Law of the Will.
Conclusion
People must always be treated as ends in themselves and not as a means to an end. This maxim depends on a person’s perception of humanity and whether or not an embryo can be viewed as a person who is entitled to treatment as an end in itself. Kant’s view with regard to this is ambiguous since he did not also address the potential of a fetus to become a human.
Kant’s classification of embryos was not clear. If they are classified as things as opposed to human beings, Kant may rationalize embryo research on the grounds that embryos can be treated as a means to an end.
Works Cited
Rendtorff D., and Kemp P., eds. Basic ethical principles in European bioethics and biolaw. Copenhagen, 2000. Print.
Footnotes
1 Rendtorff D., and Kemp P., eds. Basic ethical principles in European bioethics and biolaw. Copenhagen, 2000. Print.