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Updated: May 18, 2026
17:28
Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Based Developmental Toxicity Assays for Chemical Safety Screening and Systems Biology Data Generation
Published on: June 17, 2015
Taking action on developmental toxicity: scientists' duties to protect children
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. kshrader@nd.edu
Environmental Health : a Global Access Science Source
|September 12, 2012
Summary
Allowing avoidable developmental toxicity (DT) is ethically indefensible. Citizens, particularly scientists and physicians, have a justice-based duty to prevent DT and protect human flourishing and equality.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health Ethics
- Developmental Toxicology
- Bioethics
Background:
- Proper biological functioning relies on developmental programming.
- Pollutant interference can lead to developmental toxicity (DT).
- This commentary examines the ethics of permitting avoidable DT.
Discussion:
- Four major ethical theories (virtue, natural law, utility, equity) cannot consistently defend avoidable DT.
- Avoidable DT harms individual flourishing, human life, the greatest good, and equality.
- Justice necessitates preserving biological resources for future generations, especially if epigenetic changes are heritable.
Key Insights:
- Scientists and physicians have heightened justice-based duties to mitigate DT due to their role in its causation and their capacity to effect change.
- These duties are further reinforced by their greater benefits derived from education, consumption, and income.
- Objections to these duties are logically, ethically, and scientifically unsound.
Outlook:
- Ethical frameworks and principles demand action against avoidable developmental toxicity.
- Physicians and scientists must lead efforts to prevent DT, aligning with their professional responsibilities.
- Practical strategies are proposed to implement these ethical obligations and safeguard public health.
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