Embryos: The New Frontier of Human Research

• Author: Maureen A. McTeer
• Pages: 31-42

Chapter Four

Embryos:

The New

Frontier

of

Human

Research

A

ssisted reproductive technologies

and

practices give

the

infer-

tile

a

chance

to

have children.

But

they

do

more than

just

ere-

ate

embryos

for

reproduction. They also ensure

a

supply

of

human

embryos

for

research through

IVF

programs.

In

Canada,

hun-

dreds

of

frozen

embryos

end up as

"extras"

in

fertility

clinics1

and

many

of

them will

be

used

for

research.

In

this chapter

we

will travel

to

this

new

frontier

of

science,

to the

fascinating,

yet

troubling, world

of

embryo research where reproductive

and

genetic technologies meet

and

ethics

and law

face

off

with science.

Fed in

part

by the

love

of

dis-

covery,

in

part

by the

promise

of

commercial gain,

and

most

of all by

ordinary

women

and men

wanting cures

to the

diseases

and

disabilities

that

afflict

them

and

their

families,

this kind

of

research

is

proceeding

at

a

frenetic

pace.

Many

questions

and

controversies

lie

ahead

of us, and in

this

domain also,

the law

will

need

to find

ways

to

balance science's need

to

push forward with society's larger responsibility

to

protect human

life

from

abuse

and

harm. This dual task will

be

difficult.

Anyone

who

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