When the Eggs Justify the Means

Hands Off Our Ovaries is a group dedicated to achieving "a moratorium on egg extraction for research purposes until such time as global discourse and scientific research yields information sufficient to establish adequate informed consent". This unlikely group of both "pro-life" and "pro-choice" feminists is deeply concerned that egg extraction for stem cell research damages the health and even the lives of some women and can cause further abuses toward women, especially the poor from the U.S. and abroad.

Hands Off Our Ovaries demands the FDA "investigate the 25 deaths and over 6,000 complaints of medical complications associated with the drug, Lupron" which is given to women to stimulate egg production, and that studies "address the long and short term risks of Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome."

From their site:

The recent South Korean cloning scandal—an example of global co-operation between American and Korean researchers— illustrates our concerns only too well. At the heart of the scandal are the abuses suffered by women for the sake of risky, highly speculative, fraudulent research. The effort involved more than 2,200 ova obtained by paying and coercing women, some of whom were in subordinate positions within the research lab. Now, thirty-five Korean women’s groups are seeking compensation on behalf of the nearly 20 percent of the Korean women “donors” who were harmed by the egg extraction procedures. Two women (one
in London and one in Dublin) are known to have died recently from complications
associated with egg extraction.

This is simply unacceptable. Already women around the world, especially the poor, are prey to countless abuses. Is it hard to imagine the unscrupulous and the evil tricking or even coercing young women into giving up their eggs at the potential cost of their health or lives so researchers can have the thousands of eggs they would need for their mad science? I'm sure there are those today who will argue that even if some women are harmed in the process of harvesting eggs, it's insignificant because, just think of all those (rich people) who will benefit! Well, I'm sure the Nazi scientists thought their medical research on Jews was worthy work, too. After all, the ends justify the means in a utilitarian worldview!

No. The more I learn about embryonic stem cell research, the more I despise it. Let's stick with adult stem cell research. Adult stem cells are easy to obtain, aren't associated with ethical dilemmas, and have yielded the most success in medical research and medical aid.

Hat tip: Paul