The foundation of the human body is cells, but even cells need a foundation and that foundation is found in stem cells. Stem cells are the beginning cells in every organ and tissue in our bodies. Stem cells are formed shortly after fertilization, from this initial pool of highly specialized cells all of the tissue in the body is made. These cells are needed to replace injured tissue and to regenerate cells that are lost every day. There are two properties that make stem cells so unique: they have the ability to regenerate in a way to make exact copies of themselves and they also have the ability to differentiate to other cell types in the body. There are two types of stem cells that can be used in curing diseases, embryonic stem cells …show more content…
Embryonic stem cells are created through in vitro fertilization in a lab. These cells are harvested from the blastocyst, an early stage of development in a fetus. At this stage of development, about five days after fertilization, the fetus consists of a hollow ball of approximately 150 to 200 cells. This method of creating stem cells raises a lot of controversy around the ethics of the therapy. Some people believe that this method is completely ethical because it is saving another's life by just using a collection of cells. The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) says, “At this stage, there are no organs, not even blood, just an “inner cell mass” from which embryonic stem cells can be obtained” (ISSCR). This is a key argument used by the proponents for the use of embryonic stem cells. They claim that since there is no signs of human life or a chance of vitality outside of a womb or incubator that the cells are not human. The argument that embryonic stem cells are more usable than adult stem cells is also brought forth from this viewpoint. The ISSCR claims that pluripotent cells have the potential to generate and copy every cell type found in the body; however, the adult stem cells cannot do this. This types of cells also are used by researchers to learn about human development and study diseases that would not be possible to learn about if not through embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are used to help restore and regenerate damaged tissues. This viewpoint of the argument is concerned with protecting human life, but just after it is out the