Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can differentiate into specialized cells. Stem cells come from two sources, embryos, and adult tissue. Embryonic stem cells come from when an embryo is in the blastocyst phase of its development The use of embryonic stem cells is a very controversial idea due to the fact the embryo could potentially become a child. Stem cells are unique and are important to research because they may hold the cure to many disorders and diseases. Embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells are very different, but also very much alike. Current sources of embryonic stem cells range from spare embryos from fertility treatments to custom made embryos. The use of stem cells in the scientific community could change the way we think about everything. It could save so many lives and teach us the secrets of how the human body …show more content…
Many people believe that at the time of conception an embryo is a person and that they should be treated with the same status as a full grown human and destroying the embryo by removing the blastocyst and extracting stem cells is murder. In many countries, this debate has gone to their highest level of their court system which has put in place many laws regarding the research of embryonic stem cells. Producing an embryonic stem cell line is illegal in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, and Ireland. In Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden and the Uk the practice of producing embryonic stem cell lines is legal. In the Unites States, it is illegal to use federal funding to create and research new embryonic stem cell lines after August 2001. Every country has different policies, but with over four hundred thousand eggs frozen in in-vitro fertilization clinics where many of these eggs will be discarded. Using these eggs for embryonic stem cell research, putting them towards something better than simply being thrown