APA Code Of Ethics

The first reactions to the scandal focused on the case: the detrimental effects on public trust toward science and stem cell research, the economic damages in the field’s funding, the loss in the market value of the biotech industry, and also the negative effects on the policy debate (Kakuk, 2009). The unethical behavior committed by Hwang has caused scientific magazines and the press to be careful when publishing information for their articles (Kakuk, 2009). After the scandal

Lo, B., & Parham, L. (2009). Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research. Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726839/

Stem cells make up every organ and tissue that reside inside the human body. These cells help to regenerate and replace defective tissues and cells that are injured and destroyed within our body everyday. Former President, George W. Bush, felt so strongly opposed to the development of this research that he cast the first veto of his presidency when Congress tried to broaden the scope of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007. In this veto he stated that, “This bill crosses a moral line that I and others find troubling.” (1)

When it comes to having a Code of Ethics, each one is different depending on the field or profession that one is going into. Some are long to get the point across and to cover everything, others are short because there is not much to say about the field. When it comes to the National Press Photographers Association, their Code of Ethics, is not that long nor that short. It get’s straight to the point and simple and easy to understand.

Stem Cell Research has been a controversial topic to the public ever since its introduction in 1998 after a scientist James Thomson derived stem cells from human embryos. Stem cells are cells that have the extraordinary ability to “give rise to all cells and tissues in the body” (Holland, Lebacqz, & Zoloth, 2001). Stem cells thrilled scientists. They offered the potential in curing many diseases. They offered the ability to restore organs; one could save failing organs by injecting healthy cells into the damaged parts, this process is called regenerative medicine. Stem cells offered endless possibilities. However, the public didn’t know how to deal with it. They were conflicted on whether it was ethical to destroy human embryos or the miraculous

People fear that this intense research on stem cells will in the near future lead to the ability to clone humans. (Anon., 2008)

With these new discoveries in public light, a debate has started that continues to this day. In this debate, some fear that humanity should not be meddling with DNA, and the doing so could have grave consequences. This debate has also raised moral questions over tampering with human DNA and as a result the U.S. Government prohibited federal funding toward most stem cell research until the current Presidential Administration came into office.

Stem cell research is the most controversial topic in the health field since abortion. Stem cell research however, has the potential to unlock an infinite amount of possibilities as well be the key to curing patients with terminal illnesses. Many people from around the world have their opinions on this type of research dealing with ethics, politics, and religion. The most efficient way to study stem cells is taking them from donated embryos (which have been banned in the United States). This research process is claimed to be unethical. The fact is that stem cell research if ever accepted in society, will lead to one of the biggest, if not the biggest medical revolution in the twenty-first century.

A principle can be defined as the universal law, or a basic truth. Like rule, principles are action guides and assists an individual in making a moral decision. In both videos there were many ethical principles that were evident. Health care professionals during the healing process need to practice these ethical principles to improve the patient’s overall well-being beneficence, nonmaleficience, and autonomy.

Two path-breaking articles published by Dr. Hwang and his team in the journal Science that mainly dealt with the derivation of 11 patient specific human embryonic stem cell line from cloned blastocyst using SCNT technology. A second one that claimed that the process efficiency was improved and that clinical trials were within reach followed the first paper. Dr. Hwang, then, hailed a hero in the scientific community, was soon mired in controversies for ethical breach and embezzlement.

The debate of the pros and cons of stem cell research clearly illustrate the difficult ethics evaluations researchers sometimes must do.

The first and most important guideline is that the rights and safety or your participants should always come before your experiment. The second guideline has to do with informing the participant of what will be going on in the study. It is very important to get the participants consent before proceeding with anything else. And when the participants are using children it is also very important to get consent from the parents. In cases like a blind or double blind experiment it is okay to hold off on telling the participant in which group they are in, but before the experiment you have to let them know that they could be in the control group which is the one that stays the same or that they might be in the experimental group which is the one that actually gets tested on. And after everything is complete it is important to make sure you tell the participant any information that you had to hold on to until the end. The third guideline is tricky because it has to do with lying to your patient for a good cause. If you are conducting an experiment where you are interviewing people and wanted to test how attentive they were to their surrounding by hanging a picture of a dog on the wall. And wanted to see how many would remember what the picture was about after they left the interview, then it would be okay to withhold that information from them, but at the end you would have to tell them everything you did and why you did it, which is called debriefing. The four guideline is very simple which is that if the individual no longer wants to participate in the study they are free to do as they please, no matter how it may affect your research. The fifth guideline is also very strait forward, it has to do with creating a safe environment for the participants, and to make sure they are no

Ethics - better known as the difference between morally correct and incorrect - play a major role in today’s scientific research and events. Two sources of major ethical questioning in biotechnology are stem cell research and/or use as well as gene therapy. Both areas have enabled science to make immense strides toward cures to various diseases and disorders, however, if left with no parameters, both stem cells and gene therapy may be used inappropriately, or worse, unethically.

The issues of Stem cell research is politically charged. This is prompting biologist to begin engaging in ethical debates. This has led to an unusually high level of interest in the general public toward this aspect of biology. Unfortunately there is still a long way to go in basic research before new therapies are available.

Boyd, John. "How Japan's Stem Cell Study Became a Scandal." Al Jazeera English. www.aljazeera.com. N.p., 8 July 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.