Stem Cell Research Ethics

The ethics of research involving fetuses or material derived from fetuses have been widely debated for over three decades, portrayed by its proponents as holding the key to scientific and medical breakthrough and by its opponents as devaluing the most basic form of human life. The latest chapter in this long saga involves the use of embryonic stem cells. Research in this field took a great leap forward in 1998, when the first successes in growing human stem cells in culture were reported independently by Drs. James Thomson and John Gearhart. According to the National Institutes of Health, embryonic stem cell research "promises...possible cures for many debilitating diseases and injuries, including Parkinson 's disease, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, burns, and spinal cord injuries. The NIH believes the potential medical benefits of human pluripotent stem cell technology are compelling and worthy of pursuit in accordance with appropriate ethical standards (National Institutes of Health 2000). Research in this new and developing field has sparked controversy centered on the moral implications of destroying human embryos and poses several compelling ethical questions. Among them: Does life begin at fertilization, in the womb, or at birth? Might the destruction of a single human embryo be justified if it can alleviate the pain and suffering of many patients?

Despite the new technological advances that bring promise to many medical treatments, few issues cause concern when implementing the research into clinical studies. Many ethical dilemmas slow the progression of research due to the variety of opinions influenced by moral beliefs. Resembling abortion, the process of fetal stem cell research includes destruction of the embryo five to seven days after conceived, in order to obtain the needed stem cells. Stem cells main function is to divide and regenerate into new more specially designed cells. In 1981, mice stem cells were obtained but over ten years later, researchers were able to extract stem cells from human embryos. It is believed the stem cells of a human embryo could better the treatments of birth defects, diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and cancer. The finding of these stem cells and their uses established a moral standstill within medicine and society.

Stem cell research is one of the most promising and controversial topics is the past few decades. Stem cells were discovered by a group of scientists in 1981 by deriving embryonic stem cells from mouse embryos. The discovery of stem cell derived from mouse embryos then progressed to the discovery of deriving and creating stem cell from a human embryo is 1998. In 1998 when scientists discovered a way of deriving stem cells from a human embryo is when the controversy began. The main controversy of stem cell research is the destruction of an embryo for sceintific and medical purposes. Other controversies are whether federal governments should fund and support research is ban the use of stem cell for medical and research purposes. Various religions

Stem cell research also offers an alternative to unused embryos from in vitro fertilization. With consent of the patient, the unused embryos can be donated to stem cell research. When left unused, the embryos are seemingly "thrown away." The issue of involving in vitro with stem cell research is also a controversial topic. [The question is] "Whether a frozen embryo stored in a refrigerator in a clinic is really equivalent to an embryo or fetus developing in a mother's womb" (Hatch3). The argument of "committing murder" if the embryos are used for research, is contradicted by the discarding of them. If the embryos are not going to be used for in vitro fertilization, then who is to say that discarding them is not "committing murder." In 2001, President George W. Bush declared that embryonic stem cell research can only be used with existing cells (Hatch1). This law only proves how vital in vitro embryos are to the research. "Now that the president has permitted only research from existing stem cell lines, the Democratic Senate is sure to loosen the standard and permit stem cell research from discarded

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.

Researching the future potential of embryonic stem cells is the new hot topic debate in ethics. The moral objections from two opposing sides clash in a political and ethical battle of who is correct. Each faction tries to define the classification of what deserves unalienable human rights. Likewise, determining what is classified as human behavior such as sentiment, interests and pain has been the ground on which pro-stem cell research stand. Since these embryos share only genetic similarities and no human characteristics, it is permissible to this stance to kill them in the name of medicine. On the other hand, anti-embryonic stem cell research believes that the human life begins at conception. Consequently, the status of the embryo is

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.

Francois Rabelais, the famous Renaissance humanist, once said, “Science without conscience is the death of the soul” (Rabelais, Francois). Since the late 1960’s, this has been the stance for opponents of embryonic stem cell research. This is saying, if we are willing to take a fertilized embryo and kill it before it has even had time to develop, where is our conscience, our heart? We consider this form of stem cell research to be immoral and unethical. Scientists are looking for alternatives to this method of harvesting stem cells, similar to adult stem cell research, to provide a better, more humane approach to this breakthrough in science and medicinal therapy.

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, or HES cell research, is a very controversial ethical debate. This issues is a dilemma for scientist, religious activist, and many more. HES cell research is being disputed because the practice is morally wrong. The other side of the issue stands with many scientist, being that they see the potential lives it could save in the long run. Religious activist, and many other pro-life leaders stand by the fact of how the scientist obtain the embryonic stem cells is wrong and unethical. To understand this issue we first need to understand what stem cells are. “Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have not yet decided what type of adult cell they are going to be”(What Are). There are different types of cells, including, Adult Stem Cells (ASC), Embryonic Stem Cells (ESC) and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPSC).

The problem facing today, is that the human community fear the unknown, there are boundaries to everything in life. That you can not play god, because society frowns upon that. Years of stem cell research are the pinnacle of ethical issues, as to why is this being practiced. Lives matter and the time for change is here. The controversy starts with the first type of stem cells, which are Embryonic stem cells these cells come from an embryo. An embryo is a developing fetus, this brings issue due to Pro life supporters. It is a issue with morality, if it is correct to manipulate a living thing that can not fight for it’s life. The thing that this will explain is as to why the research does not take life, but preserve the the lives that are existent now. The frontier is near the face of people, the fear is that humanity does not know if it’s ready to explain what will happen with the advancement of the research. The way to counter argue that the research the “kills or destroys” the fetus is that the research benefits the the whole human community. Also the research does not idealize the death of a human. It represents the idea that this research is made for medical use. Furthermore the paper establishes as to defend stem cell research, as the difference of a human and an embryo are explained extensively. Embryonic stem cells and its research have controversial in the U.S since the late 1990’s, when the first embryonic cell was created in a lab. The divide in controversy was not

In a world with science and medicine advancing everyday, one of the most promising and exciting discoveries ever made were stem cells. Scientists discovered an undifferentiated cell that could morph into anything they needed it to, from skin all the way to a liver. The only problem that arose was the fact that undifferentiated stem cells could only be harvested from embryos. As advances in research were made, along came the discovery of adult stem cells, umbilical stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. Although science is advancing, scientific research continues to be conducted on stem cells harvested from embryos and aborted fetuses despite the social, political, and ethical arguments against it and the growing potential for stem cells to be collected from adults, umbilical cords, and induced pluripotent stem cells.

A lot of people oppose the research that is being conducted on embryo stem cells because they are pro-life. According to most of the research not a single embryo is killed for this research. When

Is it ethical to voluntarily deny others to suffer and die when we have the key to continuing their lives? The person dying who might be a mother, father, spouse, or friend to someone else . For some individuals answering this question, it would be unethical not to, and as quick as a clap, it would be a”yes”.The others who don’t give an answer, most likely know that there is a catch. With the controversial subject of researching stem cells that has a reputation of exchanging an embryo for the purpose of benefiting someone else’s life, there seems to be an obvious catch. Personally, amidst the controversy, I think stem cells should be involved in research only if the outcome does not sacrifice another’s life. Since there are alternative options

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

Steven Weinberg, a famous theoretical physicist, once said, “It does not help that some politicians and journalists assume the public is interested only in those aspects of science that promise immediate practical applications to technology or medicine” (Doc, 2016). Though this refers to many, if not all, fields of science when there are new technological advances, there is one in particular that falls under this assumption. There are two basic fields within stem cell research and the one under the most scrutiny is embryonic stem cell research. To be able to use their stem cells without killing them has not been developed yet, so many articles on ethical concerns of stem cell research are focused on this specific topic. Many areas of