The Bioethics of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells: Will Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells End the Debate?

ABSTRACT

The ethical debate surrounding human pluripotent stem (PS) cell research is mainly due to use of human embryonic stem (ES) cells. It has been suggested by many that human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells would end the debate due to their non-embryonic origin. This review examines the ethical issues surrounding the use of iPS cells and their ES cell counterparts, and argues that while iPS cells are in many ways ethically less contentious, they will certainly not end the debate.