Human Stem Cell Research : Ethical Dilemmas With The Utility Of Embryonic Stem Cells

When talking about the ethical issue surrounding embryonic stem cells their are 2 main moral principles:

Embryonic stem cells research is the most debated type of stem cell research. The moral standings of embryonic stem cell research have been debated since the research started. The side against the research claims that it is wrong to value one’s life above another and that the elimination of the most basic form of life is murder. While the side supporting the research claims that the research could bring about the cure for many types of diseases and help save the lives of millions. Embryonic stem cells are controversial because of how they are obtained and used. While the two sides argue over whether it is moral or not, they both agree that adult stem cells have potential without the moral dilemma.

In the U.K over 70% of the population supports stem cell research but yet it continues to be held back by legislation why is that (Parkinson’s UK)? Stem cells have proven potential to save thousands of lives yet some people still doubt their probability. Although many people believe that Embryonic Stem Cell Research is unethical and should not be allowed to continue. Embryonic Stem Cell Research is ethical because the embryos are usually 5-14 days old therefore making them have an absence of most of the human characteristics and embryos that are aborted are just going to die anyways and lastly because embryonic stem cells have the potential to cure several diseases and increase the lifespan of humans.

Stem cells not only exist in developing embryonic cells but also in the adult nervous system of all mammalian organisms which include humans. Stem cells can also be derived from developing mammalian nervous system. Embryonic stem cells have vast possibility in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as they have the capacity to produce each type of cell and tissue in the body. On paper, it could revolutionize the way human diseases and organ transplants are treated by creating any type of cell in a laboratory whenever needed. However, like any type of biological research there is bound to be many ethical issues that surround it and with the study of embryonic stem cells there are many who would call it inhumane as they would say an embryo is life and by destroying one it would be murder. However, in 2006 some researchers at Kyoto University in Japan have identified a way to produce cells with a stem cell like state without having to use embryos as testing. Their research has allowed them to recognised conditions that would create reprogrammed undifferentiated adult and human cells from already specialised cells skin, hair.

We have an amazing items in our body called stem cells. Stem cells are cells that have the ability to transform into any type of tissue cell in the human body. After a sperm fertilizes an egg, the cell they form is known as a zygote or a totipotent cell. This cell goes through numerous mitotic divisions and after about four days forms a blastocyst. This blastocyst has an outer layer and an inner layer, part of which is hollow. The outer layer grows to form what will become the placenta. The cells contained in the inner layer are known as pluripotent cells. They are what the term stem cell generally refers to.

Stem cells have the capability to become any type of cell. This process is possible because they are unspecialized and can divide to create new cells through cell division. Stem cells have the ability to become skin cells as well as organ cells (Stem Cell Information, 2015). There are two different types of stem cells which can be used in various ways. The first of the two is the embryonic stem cell which is found inside the embryo within its first few days (Embryonic Stem Cells, 2015). The embryonic stem cell is found in the inner mass of cells of the embryo in its earliest stage. It can be used for many different experiments most involving research to cure diseases of the heart and nervous system (Embryonic Stem Cells, 2015). The second is the adult stem cell which can be found in most tissues and organs. An adult stem cell’s main job in the body is to repair and maintain the cells that they were found with. There are many applications for stem cell research including human development, toxicology, and transplantation medicine, however, are the methods of gaining these cells ethical?

In conclusion, stem cells are the tremendous promise to understand and to cure a verity types of diseases. They represent the powerful hope to remove the misery for thousands of patients who deal daily with a debilitating disease. As any new therapy, stem cells have many obstacles. A lot of things that scientists should learn to overcome the technical obstacles. Only Knowledge is their weapon. Stem cells research remains one of the hottest ethical debate over nations. Stem cells require an honest and a pure answer that religious people have to say regarding when human life begins. Stem cells covered with political gamesmanship, where some government’s implications limit stem cells research. There are many questions remain without answers: Will

We are entering a brave new world where one can grow a heart in a petri plate then go on to surgically putting it into a real living boy who desperately needs it. This sounds like a tale of fiction. However now, scientists are currently working to produce such organs that save lives and obviate the usual failure and feared rejection by the recipient’s body. Stem cell research has traditionally been perceived to be horrific when it destroys a living embryo itself in the process. However new sources and methods are thought to be the solution to stem cell and organ formation, especially since scientists use different way to go about the production of the stem cells. Various methods are now nearly usable and even in place in the last several years alone. Stem cell research is a viable growing field of interest.

The ethical basis of offering stem cell therapy as a treatment option is based on the Paragraph no. 32, World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki- Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subject. It states that "In the treatment of a patient, where proven prophylactic, diagnostic and therapeutic methods do not exist or have been ineffective, the physician, with informed consent from the patient, must be free to use unproven or new prophylactic, diagnostic and therapeutic measures, if in the physician’s judgment if offers hope of saving life, re-establishing health or alleviating suffering. Where possible, these measures should be made the object of research, designed to evaluate their safety and efficacy. In all cases,

The use of cells in medicine is not ethical.it is not ethical because they can cause immortal cells . according to the article Henrietta lacks immortal cells it states that Henrietta died of cancer that was caused by immortal cells .this tells us that when stem cells are used they make your cells stronger causing them to live longer or forever .cells in medicine should not be used because immortal cells cause cancer causing your death

Would you be willing to sacrifice your unborn child for the potential cure for cancer? Stem cells are the future, but it may come with a heavy price. The potential benefits of stem cells are unbelievable. Stem cells could save many lives. Imagine not having to worry about organ transplants or having diabetes. But stem cells bring many issues with them too. Is killing embryos ever ok? Should cloning be allowed in stem cell research? This is a very complex topic that changes directions every day.

Stem cell research has been controversial since its development. Stem cell research has faced large opposition particularly from religious groups and churches and has been supported by various medical and research organisations. The major ethical concern over stem cell research is over the primary source of these stem cells. Stem cells can be obtained from embryos or from less controversial sources such as bone marrow. Groups opposed to stem cell research are mostly concerned over the destruction of the embryo in embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells are obtained from human embryo’s which are in the blastocyst stage. Stem cells are typically obtained from four to five-day old human embryo’s which results

The embryos to be destroyed by researchers in this campaign are at the same stage of development as embryos in the womb who have been protected as human subjects in federally funded research since 1975.(4) President Clinton's National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) and its 1994 predecessor, the NIH Human Embryo Research Panel, conceded that the early human embryo is a form of developing human life that deserves our respect(5). Treating human life as mere research material is no way to show respect.

Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research and Therapy written by Nancy King and Jacob Perrin was very different to most sources I have found, for the reason they give insight of the controversy. Although the journal is short (6 pages) I found it useful in the way that the authors introduce the controversy and give examples of how to fix them for research to advance.

The new millennium has brought with it astonishing discoveries in biomedical sciences. Microarray technology, completion of the human genome sequence and improved efficiencies of drug discovery, ultrahigh screening technologies brought modern society into completely new approach of treating major chronic diseases that seemed to be dreadful for life in the earlier stages of humanity. Along with these outstanding medical advances a self-renewing stem cell that regenerates and gives rise to all cells and tissues of the body was discovered. The controversy of such finding of abilities of stem cell is that they can only be extracted from the human embryo. In order to extort stem cells from the embryo it needs to be aborted. The extraction needs