The Heated Debate Concerning Stem Cell Research Essay

Stem Cell research and its funding have caused a lot of controversy throughout the past years. Stem cells are cells that are present in all living organisms. These cells have the potential to grow into any type of cell, including blood cells, nerves, muscles, and pancreatic cells. Stem cell research is essential because of the beneficial aspects it has to offer. Stem cells could potentially treat conditions such as Alzheimer 's, Parkinson 's, birth defects, strokes, Diabetes, cancer, and help in the reconstruction of severely damaged organs. Although stem cell research withholds great potential for many medical advances, a lot of controversy surrounds the sources and methods of obtaining stem cells and the possibility of improper usage of the knowledge acquired from research and experimentation. It is necessary for scientist to continue research as well as recognizing any ethical issues that may be present.

The transfer of information, often shared through scientific reports and research, puts this topic in a highly international spotlight. Many supporters believe that stem cells will be able to help solve once untreatable diseases or injuries such as spinal cord injuries, skin burns, Parkinson’s disease, and some blood disorders. However, the main argument is if stem cells should be used in finding therapeutic treatments. The use of embryonic stem cells is viewed by many as a moral inconsistency; it is opposed by religious organizations and individuals believing that this research should be abandoned and existing, alternative methods be adapted.

It has the ability to form any type of specific cell and thus has the greatest potential for treatments in the near future.  A more recent development in stem cell research is the creation of induced pluripotent cells, which are adult cells that become undifferentiated through a series of treatments.  Induced pluripotent stem cells have a number of benefits because the destruction of embryos is not necessary and there are no issues with immune response or rejection because the cells come from the patient.  However, it will be a long time before this type of cell become widely used on humans because the method used is not completely understood and has negative side effects.  In animal testing, “…the virus used to introduce the stem cell factors sometimes causes cancers” (“Stem cell basics”).  Therefore, embryonic stem cells should be an important part of stem cell research.  Even if induced pluripotent cells can replace embryonic cells in the future, the knowledge gained from current embryonic cell research would still be very applicable.   Unfortunately, research is very time and resource intensive, which is where the debate of federal funding comes into play.

The controversy due to embryonic stem cells is quite debatable. Both sides present many strong reasons that prove their point, but it is still, frankly, nearly impossible to take a stand from an unbiased view. "This is the first study showing that embryonic stem cells can be used for brain and spinal cord repair in an animal model of a human neurological disease," said researcher Oliver BrŸstle (a neuropathologist at the University of Bonn in Germany) referring to the study done on rats (CNN). Just like Oliver BrŸstle many scientists around the world agree that embryonic stem cell show much welcomed hope of cure of spinal and brain repair. In addition to healing spinal and brain injuries, the embryonic stem cells can also treat diabetes, a disease which 54%

The embryonic stem cells can be used for various medical cure. It can help treat diseases including Parkinson's, stroke, heart disease and diabetes. The embryonic stem cells are cells that can easily be transformed into any cell. This can help treat many diseases but this may also increase the number of women selling their eggs and undergo dangerous procedure to do. We don’t agree with the use of the embryonic stem cells for research.

In the past two decades, many technological and scientific advances have been made in order to make life easier for many people who suffer from cancer, disease and sickness. Among these advances there is something revolutionary called stem cells. Stem cells can help restore and regenerate almost all parts of the human body such as the heart, kidney, liver, and many other organs. Although stem cells offer a lot, there are many views against and for stem cells, and among these views lies the debate of whether stem cells should be legalized or not (NIH 2). Stem cells offer exciting new opportunities in the field of science such as regenerating human body parts, but many people are still debating whether or not the use of stem cells is

In humans adult stem cells, not embryonic stem cells, have been used in therapies for more than forty years. People with blood disorders have used stem cell therapy to take the opportunity to improve upon their life. On the other hand, embryonic stem cells have a very high potential to treat or even cure numerous diseases like diabetes and heart disease. They are much more versatile in their usage compared to adult stem cells. Another practical use for embryonic stem cells is to treat damaged nerves ("Testing The Use…”). These nerves could have been impaired in a spinal cord injury. As of today, scientists have already performed stem cell transplants in people whose cells were damaged through chemotherapy of disease.

Research involving human embryonic stem cells and human non-embryonic stem cells has the potential to lead to better understanding and treatment of many disabling diseases and conditions. Advances over the past decade in this promising scientific field have been encouraging, leading to broad agreement in the scientific community that the full range of promising stem cell research should be supported by Federal funds. (White House)

Embryonic stem cells could cure many things such as Alzheimer 's disease, Parkinson 's disease, Diabetes, and many other things (Stem Cell Information). This category could broaden but how will that ever be known

The paramount reason embryonic stem cell research should be funded by the government is that it could lead to cures to some of our world’s most devastating diseases. According to Mayo Clinic, “People who might benefit from stem cell therapies include those with spinal cord injuries, type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, stroke,

In the contemporary world of today, the issue of embryonic stem cell research is one of this controversial significant topic regarding which there is neither fair/moral agreement nor understandable, wide-ranging laws. As far as the ethical debate is concerned, it focuses on the verifiable piece of information that stem cell research consists of destroying the very early embryos of the human beings. The federal government has restricted the financial support for stem cell research to research that makes use of the stem cells obtained from a small amount of stem cell "lines" (Shapiro, 2006).

Stem cells have a plethora of side effects that over powers the benefits. The ability to differentiate is known as plasticity, and it is thought to only be at its greatest in embryonic stem cells. In order for the embryonic cells to be of use they must be fertilized, after which, the stem cell is removed, destroying the embryo. Stem cells can be used in adults; however it is believed through the consensus of the medical community that the plasticity of embryonic stem cells is not even closely matched by those of adult stem cells. The general idea is that “adult stem cells have a limited capacity to differentiate (Solter 8).” Adult stem cells are already stuck in their ways, which makes it useless, in a way. They can only reproduce the same cell type that they originate from. Thus, despite the prospecting medical leaps that this technology can provide, the process of how to obtain the embryonic stem cells overwhelms the benefits by far.

Embryonic stem cell research is a highly controversial topic in today's society, this kind of stem cell commits to regenerate any type of tissue. Unfortunately, Embryonic Stem Cell Research has a dark side. To obtain these cells will kill the embryo automatically. In other words, the acquirement of the Human Embryonic Stem Cell includes performing an abortion. To obtain these cells, it would kill the embryo. This has created controversy since abortion is such a divisive topic. Politicians are uneasy to take sides. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell issue is today's Pandora's Box due to all the unwittingly chaos that it can bring to our lives. By having this new option available in the medical world,

In an article written by Deborah White she states, “no cures have yet been produced by embryonic stem cell therapy.” We are wasting all this time using methods that haven’t even made a positive impact on our community, when we could in fact be finding other less harmful and controversial means of curing diseases.

There are many good things that could occur from embryonic stem cell research, including numerous areas of scientific potential. Over 100 million americans suffer from stem cell related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, cancer, etc., and a breakthrough in stem cell research could find causes and solutions of the problem