J Skin Stem Cell. 2019 June; 6(2):e101509. Published online 2020 March 2. doi: 10.5812/jssc.101509. Discussion Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: A Comparison Between Turkey and Iran Tansu Sayar Kanyı¸ s 1, * 1 Department of Law, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Turkey * Corresponding author: Department of Law, Izmir University of Economics, No. 156, Sakarya St. Balçova, Postal Code: 35330, Izmir, Turkey. Email: sayar.tansu@gmail.com Received 2020 January 30; Revised 2020 February 15; Accepted 2020 February 16. Abstract The human embryo has a special character, with its ability to hold the personal data of both ova and sperm donors and its own, in addition to its potential to become a human being. For this reason, states should give the human embryo proper protection, which should be more rigorous than any somatic or germ cells of a human being. Legal protection provided by states reflects their view on the moral status of the human embryo. The moral status of the human embryo is gradual, but it is difficult to measure the stages of the human embryo’s development since its development is a continuous process. It is possible to say that the 14-day rule, the early embryonic stage, transfer to the women’s body, and ensoulment are accepted as important stages for human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (hESCR). According to Turkish regulations, it is not possible to do hESCR in Turkey. Iran gives permission to use spare/surplus embryos in hESCR based on fatwas, and regulates the conditions clearly in guidelines. Iran’s regulations and practices are a reflection of the view that the human embryo has a gradual independent moral status. Graduality is provided by the stages of the 14-day rule, implantation into the womb, and ensoulment. However, in Turkey, although the gradual independent moral status view is seen in the regulations on abortion and assisted reproductive techniques, it is seen that regulations on hESCR are incompatible with other regulations on the practices concerning the human embryo. We believe that Turkey should permit hESCR, at least, on spare/surplus human embryos. Keywords: Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Moral Status of Human Embryo, Law, Ethics, Iran, Turkey 1. Context Human embryonic stem cell research is very impor- tant for finding new effective treatments for human dis- eases. Human embryonic stem cells contain pluripotent cells. Pluripotent cells have the potential to change into at least 200 types of somatic cells (1, 2). Scientists believe that embryonic stem cells will make it possible to treat very important diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, neu- rodegenerative defects, heart diseases, Parkinson’s disease, and anemia (1, 2). However, the fact that human embryos are destroyed in human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (hE- SCR) causes intense disputes on the moral status of in vitro human embryos (3). States that permit hESCR are obliged to provide proper protection to the human embryo. This obligation might be based on the International Treaties or fundamental prin- ciples and rights of law such as the principle of human dignity or right to respect personal autonomy and bodily integrity. States’ obligations to provide proper protection to human embryos can cause different attitudes and large varieties in their hESCR legislations. Table 1 shows a vari- ety of legislation in different states (supplementary file Ap- pendix 1). In this study, the views on the moral status of the human embryo will be explained, as the moral status is closely linked to the legal status of the human embryo. After that, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s and Republic of Turkey’s legal rules on hESCR will be clarified, as the two states’ have much in common from a sociological perspec- tive. In this way, the differences and similarities of the two states’ regulations on hESCR and consequently, their views on the moral status of the human embryo will be deter- mined. 2. Moral Status of the Embryo The moral status of the embryo is linked to its legal sta- tus. In this part of the study, we will discuss how they are linked. According to Fleischman, Chervenak, and McCul- lough, the authors who consider the embryo as a living be- ing with the potential to become a human being, the em- Copyright © 2020, Journal of Skin and Stem Cell. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited.