Stem Cells: Good, Bad and Ugly

A stem cell is a cell in the body that can differentiate into almost any other type of cell in the body. Stem cells come from sites in the bone marrow, as well as the tissues of developing fetuses. The most controversial issue in stem cell therapy is the use of fetuses for their stem cells. Scientists want to clone human embryos, and use the stem cells long before the embryo matures (when it is only about 36 cells). This causes a large amount of unease in society, because people fear that stem cells and therapeutic cloning will lead us into disgusting and horrible experimental practices, as well as therapies. Most people in America do not want this horrible vision of the future to come

The topic of abortion is heavily debated. One of the major controversies surrounding abortion is whether or not the embryo is a human life and able to receive the same rights as any other human. Is the embryo mentally developed enough to be considered as a human life? It is medically proven that after conception, the human brain takes many months to develop, so the “personhood” of a fetus cannot begin until about the seventh month.

Many people believe that because the embryo has the potential to become a human being, the destruction of these embryos is basically murder. However, the embryo is no older than fourteen days. This means it has no human features and has not differentiated into distinct organ tissues;

Claims that may be criticized. Although I do fully agree with Manninen when she states that embryos are human, but they are simply in a different developmental stage than the rest of us, I feel that the potential for cognitive abilities and intellect may also be argued. Who’s to say this embryo may or may not want to donate tissues or organs when they are older? For this reason it can be confusing to prohibit the use of embryos on these

Embryonic stem cells have the ability to grow into any type of cell that your body contains and can potentially aid in curing diseases and or repair many essential things in your body such as a kidney or a lung. This sounds like an extremely favorable advantage to medical advancements but this subject does summon some intense debates on where the stem cells come from. Embryonic meaning that it comes from the embryo veers many people’s opinion to totally protest any use of embryonic stem cells. Opposing abortions and the use of embryonic stem cells go hand in hand. Many people are just not ready for the responsibility of having a child so they take matters into their own hands and many consider having an abortion. In the end everyone takes their own decision and they fit it to what they feel is best for their lives. Many people may see an abortion as killing an innocent life but people make their own decisions and no one can stop them. Abortions are a solution to unprepared individuals that can not handle the responsibility of having a child; why not use the cells from the procedure to save a life. Children are wonderful gifts but some people are just not ready to take up the responsibility of raising that gift so they can use that gift to help another needy life.

When an embryo should be considered an actual human has a variety of answers, “some have sought to reject that the early human embryo is a human being, according to one view, the cells that comprise the early embryo are a bundle of homogeneous cells that exist in the same membrane but do not form a human organism because the cells do not function in a coordinated way to regulate and preserve a single life”.(Siegel)

Lee and George support their argument by providing three important facts that differentiate a human embryo is, in fact, a human being. First, they say that sex cells and somatic cells are part of a larger organism while the human embryo is a complete or whole organism, though immature (14). Secondly, they say that the embryo is human and has all the characteristics of a human being but the sex and somatic cells are genetically and functionally different because they cannot develop

Stem cell research is so controversial because stem cells have the potential to fix damaged cells or tissues. It is also because when researching stem cells, human embryonic stem cells are damaged. One side of the argument is “stem cells can heal people!” “we have to fund this because it could help with other diseases!!”. The other side is “you are damaging embryonic stem cells, therefore damaging a human life.”

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).

While some people might say that stem cell research is immoral and unethical, others believe that it is a magical solution for almost any problem, thus leading to a very controversial issue. Scientists have been searching for years for ways to eradicate incurable diseases and perform other medical procedures that yesterday's technology would not fix. With the rapidly arising, positive research on stem cell technology, the potential that exists to restore any deficiency is in the same way, likely to destroy humanity. America is suffering from its inability to choose who holds precedence over this issue. Too many of us find it impossible to reach a basis for which our differing opinions can be shared and formed into a universal and

Arguments are made supporting both sides of the debate, and many claim that embryos have a moral status. The embryos are a potential human life and they should be treated with as much respect as anyone. They have a chance of becoming like any one of us, and that is taken away from them when they are experimented on. “A human embryo is a human being in the embryonic stage, just as an infant is a human being in the infant stage” (Hug 2). They are still alive and have souls just like the rest of us. Embryos are what we all have started off as, and we were given a chance to live. We can’t pinpoint when a human life begins and so we should give a moral status to all humans no matter what stage of life they are in.

The different viewpoints that people have on Stem cell research has lead to many arguments that have been going on for years. While many people believe stem cell research as morally wrong and crime against humanity others view as the next step to the future and modern science. I personally think that stem cell research should be allowed because it promises cures to diseases that kill millions of people a year. Many people will benefit from the research including people with cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, paralysis, and many other conditions. I believe that Stem cell research will lead to many breakthroughs in the area of

They concluded that a human embryo and a “dolly embryo” acquire respect differently. A “dolly” embryo is no different genetically when in the laboratory from the somatic cell from which it is derived from. A somatic cell is any cell of a plant or an animal other than a germ cell. A human embryo acquires respect when it meets the criteria that “its development status of the embryo, the embryo’s potential, and the value of the embryo to other people or to themselves” (Cameron and Williamson 218). When dealing with a “dolly embryo” it obtains dignity/respect “upon the successful act of implantation, because after implantation development takes place which, if uninterrupted, leads to the birth of a human being” (Cameron and Williamson 218). I agree with Cameron and Williamson that a human embryo and a “dolly” embryo differentiate when they acquire dignity/respect. A human embryo is formed during fertilization, while a “dolly” embryo doesn’t require fertilization to become an embryo. Fertilization is the action or process of fertilizing an egg, female animal, or plant, involving the fusion of male and female gametes to form a zygote. Since fertilization does not take place, it makes it hard to tell when life begins in a “dolly” embryo. J. H. Brooke argues in her article “Commentary on: The Person, the Soul, and Genetic Engineering” that dignity is ascribed to an embryo not given, or that someone has to give the embryo dignity for it

For quite some time now there has been a debate on stem cell research and whether or not the medical applications outweigh the unethical means of retrieving them. There is no easy answer to this question but it is the hope of this paper to make this murky concept a bit clearer.

In my opinion I believe that they early embryo has no moral status and that it is a researcher 's duty to save or better the quality of human life by using these stem cells. I feel it is a moral obligation to treat and relieve people who are suffering of their pain. If we do not use stem cells we are delaying our journey to treating neurological diseases and going further to creating an artificial brain. There will always be a cost but we should accept it and continue working in a carefully regulated context because we know the benefits and how it can positively affect thousands of people 's lives.