ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of Stem Cell Research

1077 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ethical debate on embryonic stem cell research

“Medical miracles do not happen simply by accident. They result from painstaking and costly research – from years of lonely trial and error, much of which never bears fruit – and from a government willing to support that work…” -Barack Obama. Stem cell research has been harsly debated due to ethical and religious views; and for good reason. Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become …show more content…

Most embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro, and then donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. After researching the pros and cons of stem cell research, I have come to the conclusion that the research and funding should be continued, due to the potential to transform medicine and save an uncountable number of lives.
Medicine has evolved so much in the last few decades that fertilized human embryos no longer have to die for the production of stem cells. In August 2005, Harvard University scientists announced a break-through discovery that fuses "blank" embryonic stem cells with adult skin cells, rather than with fertilized embryos, to create all-purpose stem cells viable to treat diseases and disabilities. This discovery …show more content…

For the Catholic Church and many other Christian groups, life begins at conception, making the research equivalent to homicide because it results in the destruction of human embryos. While this may have been true in the past, embryonic cells are not the main source of stem cells now that all the other options are used. Quite honestly, I (along with the majority of the Christian population in the United States) do not support the use of embryos, but I do think other stem cell sources, such as the umbilical cord/placenta, and bone marrow are very important, life saving sources, that should indeed be funded for further research of the topic.
Furthermore, stem cell research offers the hope of cures for chronic and debilitating conditions, such as juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries and blindness, along with many others. One embryo may be the cure for hundreds of different diseases for humans with just as much value of

Show More
Related
1212 Words | 5 Pages

Embryonic stem cells could be used to generate new tissue and/or organs for transplantations without the side effects of anti-rejection drugs. Defective and dying tissues caused by diseases or injury could be replaced with a virtually unlimited supply of specially grown cells. New Drugs and therapies could be identified with the help of human stem cell cultures. Basically, this breakthrough in stem cell research could help millions of people in life-changing ways.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

To begin with, stem cells can be defined as undifferentiated cells which then become dissimilar and develop into more specialized cells. There are in essence two sources used by scientists

Read More
667 Words | 3 Pages

Over the years, there have been many controversial issues surrounding medical research, but one of the most arguable topics of all time is the use of embryonic stem cells. Some individuals believe that extracting stem cells from unborn babies will be useful to create new medications or, in most cases, help regenerate damaged cells. Although, many people disagree with the process scientists use to obtain these stem cells. By continuing embryonic stem cell research, scientists are denying an unborn child the chance to live, they are not letting nature take its intended course, and they are not adhering to the religious or moral beliefs of many people.

Read More
918 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
901 Words | 4 Pages

Embryonic stem cell research was established in the early 80’s and has since sparked into a highly controversial issue involving religious debates over the use of human embryos. Embryonic stem cells are considered to be unspecialized cells, which can be manipulated into specialized cells such as a skin cell or a heart cell. The specialized cells could potentially cure conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cystic fibrosis, and spinal cord injuries. Despite the large amount of ethical complications that come along with the utilization of stem cells, I advocate that stem cell research should be expanded and developed more widely in the medical field.

Read More
1402 Words | 6 Pages

Today, our technology is advancing at an ever increasing rate. Science and medicine are making breakthroughs that improve everyone’s quality of life. Life saving medicine, previously limited to the realm of science fiction, is within our grasp. And part of that future is due in part to the amazing research being done with stem cells. However, there are laws in place that prevent scientists from getting as much use as possible from cells derived from embryos, which is the most abundant source.

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

In recent years, several competing viewpoints have emerged about embryonic stem cell research. All of this debate raises an important question, Should embryonic stem cell research be conducted for treatment of present and future diseases? People who believe that an embryo should not be destroyed tend to say that embryonic stem cell research should not be conducted. On the other hand, people who believe that embryonic stem cell research creates means of curing diseases reply that the research should be conducted. Embryonic stem cell research “uses special cells found in three-to-five day old human embryos to seek cures for a host of chronic disease” (PRC).

Read More
1341 Words | 6 Pages

Stephan R. Latham, the author of "Between public opinion and public policy: human embryonic stem-cell research and path-dependency", informs the public of the reasons for which embryonic stem cells are the ideal test subject: “These combined features of identity, reproducibility, and pluripotency give embryonic stem cells great utility in testing and comparing cellular responses to different drugs and biological materials” (1). For years, scientist have searched and worked on developing potential cures for fatal, incurable diseases, but they have never been successful. Today they have the ideal subject for

Read More
673 Words | 3 Pages

In the article “Life Has Never Been So Good” by Michael Shermer (2010), he compares and contrasts the differences between the cost of living in today’s future with the cost of living in the past. Shermer also discusses how the future has changed the economic wealth in our society because of the changes in technology and the possession of material goods for civilians. The author states that living is even better because of lack of crime rates and better working environments as well. In his essay, Shermer wants his readers to understand that “these are the good old days” of the future.

Read More
720 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
576 Words | 3 Pages

Stem cell research takes two primary forms: adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Each cell line that is harvested offers the opportunity to develop new treatments that may help to stop a plethora of diseases that affect humanity. Cord blood treatments that involve stem cells have helped to treat more than 6,000 people and 60+ diseases and that is just the beginning of what this medical research may offer. One of the primary advantages of stem cell research is the availability of cell lines and that they can be obtained ethically.

Read More
974 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
830 Words | 4 Pages

Not all of the stem cells are controversial. Mostly the only one that people don’t approve of is the Embryonic Stem cell transplant. Embryonic Stem Cell Research is when scientist take cells from aborted fetuses or fertilized eggs and use then for medical research purposes. This causes controversy because it is against most people 's religion to get abortions. Even if it not against their religion, some people still do not like the idea of taking stem cells from aborted babies and putting them into sick people.

Read More
775 Words | 4 Pages

This process provides a safe alternative to embryonic cells, as the stem cells did not produce tumors. Adult stem cells are also being found in more tissues than ever thought (Stem cell Basics). This would allow many different uses of the adult stem cells, as they can only form certain major cell types of a tissue or

Read More
1121 Words | 5 Pages

Many people view this as destroying a potential for life to futher scientific research and knowledge. A lot of the opposition to stem cell research comes from the moral belief that human life begins at conception and some see it that destroying an embryo for medical research or even to treat another human is morally the same as killing a human child or adult for research. Many people with these views are strongly religious Roman Catholics or Orthodox

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Stem Cell Research

Related Topics

Open Document