The Pros And Cons Of Embryonic Stem Cells

Introduction

Embryonic stem cells are a large focus of study, especially in the biomedical and scientific world. These undifferentiated, pluripotent cells are highly controversial and has become a popular topic for debates. The embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in an In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) clinic. While these stem cells have many potential and positive abilities, like regenerating tissues and holding possible cures for diseases, there is a dark side to them. Many problems involving embryonic stem cells have already begun to arise. First, using embryonic stem cells to treat various problems usually comes with some major safety risks and concerns. The long term side effects

In particular, many safety concerns are involved with using embryonic stem cells for treatments. Since stem cell treatments are formally considered a medical procedure, it obviously has its own risks. One of the risks is that it is very difficult for experts to make the cells behave in certain ways (ISSCR, 2010). Often, using embryonic stem cells for treatment may lead to the production of tumours when injected into adult patients (University of Notre Dame, 2009). Jack Kessler of the Feinberg Neuroscience institute said, "If you take a human embryonic stem cell and transplant it into a person without the cell being differentiated, it will cause a tumour, period. We have to remove all possibility of that happening” (Svoboda, 2009). This quotation evidently shows that there is a really high chance of a tumour forming from embryonic stem cell treatments and that there are a lot of difficult precautions to be taken to make sure it does not happen. Furthermore, embryonic stem cells are often rejected as foreign tissue by the recipient (American Policy Roundtable, 2007). Also, embryonic cells are called tricky and more tedious to grow (Brownback et al., 2001). Cells that are grown in culture may even lose the ability to specialize into

Moreover, it has been scientifically proven that embryos are considered alive. As a matter of biological fact, the human embryo consist of all of the human genes and it is strongly expressing those genes to advance as a unique individual human, setting the crucial foundation for further development (Catholic Bishops, 2008). This biological fact clearly proves that embryos are considered a living member of the human species. as embryos contain human genes. Also, the human embryo is still the same individual as the human organism, it is just at a different stage of development (George and Lee, 2009). There is even additional embryological evidence that shows the human embryo is an immature human being. Moore has indicated that (1988) “Human development begins after the union of male and female gametes or germ cells during a process known as conception” (p. 2). Also, the human heart begins to develop during the embryonic period (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). The human heart is considered to be a defining factor on what makes us humans. These facts definitely proves that human life exists from the moment of conception, which can prove that embryos are considered human beings. If embryos are considered human beings, there is definitely no reason for embryos to be murdered. It is completely