White Papers
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White Paper. The Stem Cell Debates: Lessons for Science and Politics, A Report of the Witherspoon Council on Ethics and the Integrity of Science
The entirety of the Winter 2012 issue of The New Atlantis is devoted to a major report on the stem cell debates, a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the scientific facts and the moral, political, and legal stakes. This is the inaugural report of an important new body, the Witherspoon Council on Ethics and the Integrity of Science.
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White Paper. Emergency Contraceptives & Catholic Healthcare  The question of the licitness of providing “emergency contraceptives” to victims of sexual assault who present in the emergency rooms at Catholic hospitals is a critical matter for evaluating and developing appropriate protocols for sexual assault victims. An examination of the available scientific studies demonstrates that the most common emergency contraceptive—Plan B, generally administered to prevent ovulation—at times may fail to prevent conception from taking place and instead may prompt an early abortion. This necessitates answering the question of when, and under what circumstances, it is morally licit to provide contraceptive medications to sexual assault victims while avoiding the potential outcome of prompting an early abortion.
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White Paper. When Does Human Life Begin?  Resolving the question of when human life begins is critical for advancing a reasoned public policy debate over abortion and human embryo research. This article considers the current scientific evidence in human embryology and addresses two central questions concerning the beginning of life: 1) in the course of sperm-egg interaction, when is a new cell formed that is distinct from either sperm or egg? and 2) is this new cell a new human organism—i.e., a new human being? Based on universally accepted scientific criteria, a new cell, the human zygote, comes into existence at the moment of sperm-egg fusion, an event that occurs in less than a second. Upon formation, the zygote immediately initiates a complex sequence of events that establish the molecular conditions required for continued embryonic development. The behavior of the zygote is radically unlike that of either sperm or egg separately and is characteristic of a human organism. Thus, the scientific evidence supports the conclusion that a zygote is a human organism and that the life of a new human being commences at a scientifically well defined “moment of conception.” This conclusion is objective, consistent with the factual evidence, and independent of any specific ethical, moral, political, or religious view of human life or of human embryos.
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Reports by The President's Council on Bioethics (2002-2008)
Human Cloning and Human Dignity: An Ethical Inquiry
Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness
Being Human: Readings from the President's Council on Bioethics
Monitoring Stem Cell Research
Reproduction and Responsibility: The Regulation of New Biotechnologies
White Paper: Alternative Sources of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Taking Care: Ethical Caregiving in Our Aging Society
Human Dignity and Bioethics: Essays Commissioned by the President's Council on Bioethics
The Changing Moral Focus of Newborn Screening: An Ethical Analysis by the President's Council on Bioethics
Controversies in the Determination of Death: A White Paper by the President's Council on Bioethics