Embryonic Stem Cell Research Pros And Cons

As science becomes more advanced, research and testing of ways to heal the human body often leads to controversy over the moral and ethical dilemmas. The controversy over embryonic stem cell research has let to arguments over the funding of such research. Opponents to the research claim embryos are human lives and harvesting stem cells from them destroys the embryo thus kills a human life (SAUNDERS). Proponents argue the tremendous advantages to human health using embryonic stem cells that cannot be realized elsewhere (HUTTO). Dr. James Till and Dr. Ernest McCulloch discovered stem cells in mice in 1981. In 1998 scientist discovered a way to harvest them from human embryos. Human stem cells can come from embryos and adult tissue. The embryonic

However, in the past, stem cell research bills have been the victim of a presidential veto without regard to the majority opinion of the public. A CBS News survey found that 58% of Americans support embryonic stem cell research (HUTTO). A Gallop poll found that support for such research was at 62% (BLENDON). Additionally, in an article for the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Robert Blendon cited research showing support for or against stem cell research often falls along political party lines. Dr. Blendon says that, “About half of Republicans favor medical research involving embryonic stem cells (52%) and believe that such research should not be forbidden (51%), as compared with two-thirds (67%) of Democrats on each of these measures” (BLENDON). Although a majority of the House of Representatives agrees with stem cell research, a bill has yet to be passed to fund it because of Presidential vetoes. This means that the passage of a bill is dependent on who is president at the time. If the president is in favor of the bill, he will pass it. If the president is not in favor of the bill, he will veto it. We should not allow an individual’s opinion on the subject to decide its fate. Dr. Blendon also looks at European countries and “among the 34 countries we examined, those where the largest proportion of residents say that

While this seems to be a logical argument, the argument can be negated by the implementation of strict regulations governing the creation of embryos in the in vitro fertilization process. Shannon says, "The human embryo ... is not to be destroyed or seen as disposable tissue that can be used in research" (SHANNON). However, the use of the embryo only happens if the parents of the created embryo for in vitro fertilization purposes are no longer willing to pay for the storage of embryos because they no longer need them. The parents of the embryo can choose to donate them to research and must give consent and sign various forms before scientist can do research. If the parent does not donate them, the clinic will destroy the