An Argument for Anti-Aging through Stem Cell Research

Art Caplan directs the center of Bioethics at University of Pennsylvania. Last summer he gave a one-hour lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York on the topic of extended life, enhancement of our bodies and the potential use of advanced stem cell technology to achieve those goals.

Caplan presents a convincing argument against a group he calls “new puritans” who present ethical arguments against technology that may enable us to live longer and look better. Persons who hold this puritanical view even disapprove of cosmetic enhancement.  One person in his audience had spoken of a family member getting a facelift, and a younger woman responded with criticism saying, “that’s terrible.  It’s unbelievable that you would do that, you should simply accept the changes as they come – it’s basically unethical.”

He rejects arguments that come from the right wing and the left, which utilize various objections that are just not convincing, as he would argue.

His proposal in favor of embryonic stem cell research is this:  We’ve already doubled our lifespan since ancient times.  There is no “natural order of things” when it comes to how long we should exist or how good we should look during that time.  Stem cell technology need not come from new sources, but embryos that we already use for other purposes.  What we use to repair disease, we can also use to enhance.  There can be whole body rejuvenation, including the mind, with the help of this technology.

Skin, organs, hair and everything in between can be enhanced with regenerative cells.  Similar things have successfully been done to small organisms.  If we fund it now and conquer these frivolous (and perhaps not so frivolous) arguments now, real anti aging can become a reality.

The hour-long lecture can be found in its entirety here on Minnesota Public Radio.