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The Pros And Cons Of Stem Cell Research

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“All stem cells… are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and the can give rise to specialized cell types” (stemcells.nih.gov). Stem cells have the capability to develop into many different types of cells. It is believed that this could possibly cure many diseases. Researchers are attempting to use embryonic stem cells because they are pluripotent, which means they are able to develop into any type of cell. The adult stem cells are still questionable. Somatic (adult) stem cells are understood to be confined to the tissue of origin. Like any kind of experiment, there are the pros and cons to researching the stem cells, but sometimes the abysmal succeeds the positive, and there are always alternating …show more content…

There are many different ways to approach the situation without bringing harm to the unborn baby. Robinson quoted in “What is a Human Embryo?”: “You can have the argument that abortion is a conflict of rights between the unborn child… versus the woman’s right… to control her own body. [However] this is a different issue. This is where a human being, without their consent, can be used for research to benefit someone else. It's a living human being. It’s not a situation where you have even the question of the remains of an aborted human being. This is a live human being that has to be killed.’” The baby that begins to grow and form at conception has no choice if it wants to live or be used for research. Cells are considered to be a living organism; therefore an “blastocyste” could be considered a living embryo, even without having human features. Not only is using a living embryo unacceptable, but the embryonic scientific method could possibly create neoplasm. “Embryonic stem cells stored over time have been shown to create the type of chromosomal anomalies that create cancer cells” (nationalcordbloodprogram.org). Using research methods that endanger the life of another human being is unnecessary when there are many alternative sources …show more content…

According to allaboutpopularissues.org “...adult stem cells are superior to both umbilical cord and embryonic stem cells. They are plentiful. There is always an exact DNA match so the body's immune system never rejects them.” Adult stem cells can come from many different places, such as bone marrow, blood vessels, the human brain, and the heart. According to the National Institutes of Health, stem cells that are in the bone marrow “... can generate bone, cartilage, and fat cells that support the formation of blood and fibrous connective tissue.” Receiving the stem cells from bone marrow can be very painful, but if people of the same blood type donate the blood from the umbilical cord or placenta could save others from the painful procedure. Nationalcordbloodprogram.org states that, “Cord blood contains all the normal elements of blood - red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. But it is also rich in hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow.” Many disease have already been treated with the stems cells from cord blood. “More than 80 different diseases have been treated to date with unrelated cord blood transplants” (nationalcordbloodprogram.org). All of these alternative sources are more sensible than embryonic stem cell

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This is because embryonic stem cells are a type of unspecialized cell, so they can form into any type of cell. As Junying Yu and James A. Thomson say in their article about Embryonic Stem Cells, “human [embryonic stem cells] promise an essentially unlimited supply of specific cell types. . . for transplantation therapies for diseases” (Thomson). This explains that this course of treatment would allow not only the treatment of, but possibly even a cure for, diseases that are caused by either malfunctioning cells or the loss of them.

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For these reasons, embryonic stem cell research should be discouraged. According to the National Institutes of

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(Stem Cell Controversy, 2016) A rare choice for research technicians to obtain the stem cells necessary for their research can include a visit to a private cord blood bank. The umbilical cord blood at these specified facilities are infused with a large amount of stem cells. (Right to Life of Michigan, 2016) The clinic supplied stem cells in the umbilical cord blood is a safer derivative than withdrawing the cells from the human embryo. For parents who selected the method of in vitro fertilization to expand their family, the couple can settle on having the leftover eggs frozen for in the future endeavors instead of subjecting the fertile eggs to the methods of embryonic stem cell research.(Right to Life of Michigan, 2016)

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Embryonic stem cell research is an exciting area of regenerative medicine because of the probability of enormous potential for finding treatments and cures for debilitating diseases, disabilities, and cancers. The possibilities to learn and understand human growth from researching stem cells could lead toward a future where human suffering is all but eliminated [1]. The reasons that embryonic stem cells are more favorable than any other source of stem cells is because alternative stem cell lines are shorter-lived and do not have the same level of pluripotency. From a utilitarian perspective, the morally favorable option is to use embryonic stem cells from embryos since they are not equivalent to a fully formed human being, stem cells are taken

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With such practice, which does not create ethical problems, more than sixty types of treatments have been developed for blood, corneal and skin transplants (Kaushansky,2016). In addition to this, clinical experiments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, ALS, and Taya-Sachs's (child's) illness continue to look for treatments (Clemmitt,2006). In this case, clinical trials are underway in which in vitro parental stem cells are transplanted for therapeutic purposes to a damaged brain. Although this is not always the best choice, stem-like brain cells, often of fetal origin, can be acquired in the event of a natural abortion, which also excludes possible ethical dilemmas. In the case of embryonic stem cells, the ethical problem is more

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"(Lee & Schmainda, 2015, para.3). This quote is misleading because it doesn't mention anything about the potency of these sources. The sources that the authors mention are all a lesser potency than fetal stem cells which would limit the number of tissues that could be created. The authors then move on to talk about "reprogrammed cells derived from adults and amniotic fluid stem cells" and that these stem cells "don't pose the risk of triggering tumor growth"(Lee & Schmainda, 2015, para.4). These induced pluripotent cells mentioned are an exciting innovation to stem cell research, but they are very expensive and time consuming to create.

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However, this belief is irrational, as we shall come to see later on. The ability of these stem cells to save millions of people suffering from degenerative, debilitating diseases is evidence that embryonic stem cell treatment is completely ethical and should be completely legal all across the world. First off, what really is a stem cell? A stem cell is a cell that possesses three unique characteristics: they can divide and regenerate for extended periods of time; they are unspecialized; and they are capable of becoming different types of specialized cells (“Stem Cell Basics II”). Embryonic

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Some pro-life advocates see the matter of ESCT differently when the embryos involved will be discarded anyways, or in other words, it will be aborted. While the idea of abortion is not supported by some, it is not illegal. Persons with strong pro-life views oppose research not matter what stage of the embryo. Some people got through miscarriages, and the parents have the option to donate stem cells from said embryo for medical research purposes. This means that instead, of just disposing of the fetus it will be used to create needed organs, tissue, skin, and cures.

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Embryonic stem cells are the most talked about stem cells. Along with being very beneficial, they possess various other traits as well. For example embryonic stem cells are able to regrow organs in our body. You read that right we can regrow our own organs. Scientists are studying research on this process.

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It is true that there are alternatives. Scientists have derived stem cells from patients’ bone marrow, from their skin, and even made their own lab-grown stem cells. There are issues with these alternatives, however. Gathering stem cells from these methods are either expensive, inefficient, intrusive to the patient, or any combination of the three. To this day, embryos remain the most effective method of obtaining stem cells, in terms of both yield and cost.

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Many people argue that the embryo dies from this, which is why I thought I was going to be against this. But, there ways that stem cell research can be done without killing embryos. Also, the research from this could potentially lead to the cure of cancer which would save millions of lives. One of the biggest

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In 1998 scientist discovered a way to harvest them from human embryos. Human stem cells can come from embryos and adult tissue. The embryonic

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Embryonic stem cell research is the research of stem cells by removing embryos developed from fertilized eggs to be used for restoring tissue that has been damaged by diabetes, heart attacks, and other major injuries or disease (“NIH Stem Cell Information”). The controversy of this topic makes it difficult to decide whether it is right or wrong and impossible to respect both sides. Arguing for one side, the embryo must be destroyed to potentially save another human being’s life. And for the other, one life is always being sacrificed. Stem cell research destroys potential human life, and scientists should find other forms of research to obtain stem cells without harming anyone (“NIH Stem Cell Information”).

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yet it’s there.” Stem Cell causes numerous consequences for, it was not reliable and this should undertake deeper studies on the other hand this was the only hope for the person suffering from diseases. We should thank God for the life we have. All of us have a special purpose, it is to live and do God’s will. People were God’s creation all of us were obliged to love one another not to hurt others especially the embryos inside the mother’s

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One of the most important arguments to this debate is presented through the scientific lens. Although embryonic stem cells pose enormous potential to treat and cure diseases and conditions, adult stem cells are more effective in treating these conditions. Adult stem cells pose a much lesser risk of forming tumors or not functioning as originally intended (Smith). Adult stem cells are also currently used today, as bone marrow transplants are a form of stem cell treatment (Stem Cells in Use).

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