The Ethics of Stem Cell Research Essay

There are two different types of stem cells that are used in research: embryonic stem cells and non-embryonic “somatic” or “adult” stem cells, (NIH). Embryonic stem cells are derived from human embryos and are usually obtained through the process of in vitro fertilization in a laboratory setting. According to Bevington, embryonic stem cells are left over from attempted fertilization in fertility clinics and are donated to research by the patient with consent, (Bevington 2005). What makes embryonic stem cell research unethical is that the human embryo is destroyed through the research process. Adult stem cells are found among differentiated cells in a tissue or organ. The purpose of adult stem cells is to

People will go against this. People will say that the stem cell research and any particular use of stem cells are wrong. Most people believe that 'embryonic' stem cells which are the main type of stem cells should be not be allowed to be used for research or any particular reason whether it is curing a disease or saving someone's life! Do you think this should be acceptable? Do you think people who believe that an embryo has the full 'potential' to become a human individual has still rights of whether or not it should be destroyed? No not really because it isn't a human yet. Embryonic stem cells can cure many diseases may be different illnesses to stem cells. Maybe embryonic stem cells have a specialty that they can be used to cure more efficiently and more diseases to stem cells but some believe that embryonic stem cell research is mostly wrong as stem cells extracted from an embryo is then destroyed which could be classed as murder. But why are Stem cells so controversial? The reason for this is that embryonic stem cells are more used more commonly than adult stem cells because embryonic stem cells have not yet specialised into a particular body part, which means they are diverse and can be used in any part of the body whereas adult stem cells have already specialised meaning they are more restricted in what they can be used for and scientists believe that embryonic stem cells would be more beneficial to the medical world. US citizens were surveyed

Embryonic cells should be allowed to be used because of the medical benefits they provide. They can be used to cure diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, traumatic spinal cord injury, Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, heart disease, and even vision and hearing loss (nih.gov 2009). There is no problem using them for medical purposes and it is not immoral to use them for this reason. Embryonic cells have the potential to save lives. Therefore, the usage of embryonic cells outweighs the ethical issues.

Embryonic stem cell research is a controversial topic nationwide, because of its clash of ethical and moral values. Many people, including those suffering from diseases that this research is seeking to cure, do not believe in killing a living embryo in order to advance research and science.

As Meilaender states, declining to use embryos would only make us more creative in finding other ways. There are other means out there and they should be utilized. The overall goal of stem cell research should be

Do the benefits of stem cell research and more specifically embryonic stem cell therapy outweigh the ethical controversies? Answer/Thesis Claim: Stem cell research and therapy is a promising field being held back by ethical issue. Stem cells are a regenerative medicine that can cure numerous diseases such as, cancer, diabetes, leukemia. The main ethical question society presents is, when does life start and what is ethical? The future of medicine and abolishment of diseases is being halted by ethical stigmas, once society accepts this form of regenerative medicine disease control and abolishment will be available.

The importance of ethical issues is often understated in public knowledge. Embryonic stem cell research should be of the utmost importance in the American society due to increased federal funding and the promises research in this field hold. As with many other controversies, embryonic stem cell research can be described as a dispute between religion and science due to the destruction of a viable human embryo. Depending on the status an individual grants an embryo will likely determine their stance on the issue. Next, many changes in legality and public acceptance have prompted leaders to increase funding and expand research nationally. Since taxpayers’ dollars are at work, the public should be aware of this prevalent and advancing ethical issue and be informed of its specifics. The public should also be aware of the advancements in healthcare that this research promise. Due to the changes in funding and legality, many discoveries have been made, pushing this science further. Many scientists believe embryonic stem cell research holds the key to curing many bodily injuries and deadly diseases such as spinal cord and brain injuries, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Also, many scientists conceive that, in the future, it will be possible to “grow” human organs from an individual’s stem cells for transplantation. The latter are only a few of the plethora of anticipated and promised treatments research in this field holds. Lastly,

There are other less controversial methods of obtaining stem cells, however none of those methods seem to retrieve stem cells with the same “vitality and versatility” as those taken from embryos (Reaves). Umbilical cord blood has proven to be effective in some cases. Keone Penn, a fifteen year old from Atlanta, Georgia, was cured of his sickle cell anemia by receiving a stem cell injection. Although stem cells from umbilical cord blood are high proportioned compared to are own bone marrow and circulating blood (Dr. Andrew Yeager), they are still pluripotent, meaning that they can develop into many of the 220 cell types in the human body, but not all, therefore limiting their usefulness. Another and most obvious alternative would be to take stem cells from already grown adult stem cells. However, scientists around the world soon discovered that there were many setbacks to using adult cells. The first is that adult stem cells are already specified, meaning that if a biomedical technician were to take out a blood stem cell, it could only be used for the replacement of blood cells. Embryonic stem cells, on the other hand, are not specified, or have not yet developed into a certain type of cell. The process is controversial because of the cloning that takes place in a culture. First, the nucleus from an unfertilized egg is extracted. The nucleus contains the chromosomes of the cell, and in this case, the chromosomes of the egg. An egg alone only

“Embryonic stem cell research will prolong life, improve life, and give hope for life to millions of people,” said politician Jim Ramstad. This is a very powerful statement, and a very accurate statement. The solution to curing many diseases is just around the corner because of the advancements in embryonic stem cell research. The much needed support of society can speed up the progression of this research so lives can start to be saved. Embryonic stem cell research should be pursued because it has the potential to help or even cure many diseases, shows more promise than adult stem cells, and is morally ethical.

Stem cells are a type of cell that basically always divide in order to replace other cells in the body. They are different from normal cells because once they have first divided into a new stem cell, they can become another type of cell, such as a muscle cell or blood cell, tissue, or they can continue being a stem cell. They also can remain inactive for a period of time, yet they can still divide into new cells whenever they are needed.

In the past few years’ embryonic stem cells have been used and tested a whole lot. Which begs the questions what are they? What do they do? Is the use of them ethical? Embryonic stem cells are cell that can turn into whatever kind of cell is needed these are also referred to as pluripotent stem cells these are obtained by uses unborn children. This leads into the point that the use of embryonic stem cells in organ transplants is not ethical because embryos are killed to use and test.

Research should continue because embryonic stem cells possibly hold the key to preventing a myriad of diseases. If something can be cured and prevented then don’t scientist have an obligation to do? So long as a scientist is in accordance with the guidelines established by NIH there should be no problem with further research until we know all that we can about embryonic stem

Stem cells are the first form of the cells of a multicellular organism and are undifferentiated cells. There are 3 different types of stem cells. This includes Embryonic stem cells, tissue-specific stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells. Stem cells are capable of self-renewal.They can divide and produce cells that can to become more specific cell types, tissues or organs.

As modern medicine advances, new techniques such as regenerative medicine can be used to help aid in the treatment of diseases through the use of stem cells ("Stem cells: What they are and what they do" 1). The use of stem cells has been an ongoing debate between whether or not it is actually ethical to use embryonic stem cells, as well as if the embryo has any rights which should be protected. Since it is difficult to place a concrete definition on what exactly makes a person a person, this adds to the controversy surrounding stem cells. The central conflict that is faced when speaking about stem cells is whether or not using the research to help those suffering from diseases is worth using an embryo that possibly could have held life.

Across America, doctors in the field of abortion perform perfectly legal and constitutionally protected procedures everyday that result in the removal of unwanted fertilized embryos from a woman. For years these fetuses were terminated and discarded in a safe manner, with no further study or research done on the unborn child. Now, scientists have begun harvesting key cells from the fetuses before they are