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The Embryonic Stem Cell Lottery and the Cannibalization of Human Beings
Author(s) -
Savulescu Julian
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
bioethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.494
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-8519
pISSN - 0269-9702
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8519.00308
Subject(s) - lottery , embryonic stem cell , argument (complex analysis) , stem cell , cannibalization , environmental ethics , law and economics , biology , sociology , philosophy , business , microbiology and biotechnology , economics , genetics , biochemistry , industrial organization , gene , microeconomics
One objection to embryonic stem (ES) cell research is that it ‘cannibalizes’ human beings, that is, kills some human beings to benefit others. I grant for argument’s sake that the embryo is a person. Nonetheless, killing it may be justified. I show this through the Embryonic Stem Cell Lottery. Whether killing a person is justified depends on: (1) whether innocent people at risk of being killed for ES cell research also stand to benefit from the research and (2) whether their overall chances of living are higher in a world in which killing and ES cell research is conducted. I call this kind of killing ‘risk reductive.‘