[Possibilities and limits of harvesting and using human embryonic stem cells]

The availability of human embryonic stem cells as well as recent results about tissue specific stem cells residing in various organs of the human body have provided novel tools for basic sciences and medicine, which may result in a substantial increase of knowledge and the development of novel therapeutic concepts for the treatment of presently incurable diseases. Stem cell technologies, however, also raise fundamental ethical problems related to the sourcing and use of the cells. On the basis of a description of cultured stem cells derived from human embryos (ES cells), aborted human fetuses (EG cells), and tissues of the adult organism, respectively, the present article analyses ethical problems specifically related to each of these procedures in the context of the ethical principles underlying German law.