Date of Award
Spring 2007
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Theology
First Advisor
Hinze, Christine F.
Second Advisor
Duffey, Michael
Third Advisor
Hughson, Thomas
Abstract
During the past three decades the issue of fetal tissue research and donation has been of great interest to moral theologians, moral philosophers, medical scientists, and biotechnology industries, among others. Today, Roman Catholic bioethical and secular ethical debates ensue about what characterizes a human person, and/or whether or not it is morally ethical to use stem cells extracted from tissue and organs of electively aborted human embryos and fetuses to promote the health and well being of another. Further, Roman Catholic bioethical and secular bioethical debates foster different social ethical analyses when used to examine the social effects of fetal tissue research on vulnerable populations, especially poor African-American women, teens, and the fetus in utero. To this point, little to nothing has been written from a Roman Catholic point of view about the social effects of fetal tissue research on vulnerable populations, especially poor African-American women, teens and the fetus in utero. In particular, little to nothing has been written about social justice concerns such as exploitation, marginalization, violence, and who will ultimately benefit from this research and transplantation process given the concerns about unequal treatment and health disparities between Blacks and Whites in the United States...