There have been many types of medical advances, but one in particular that has been said that it can help on the treatment of different type of diseases. Stem cells are multicellular organisms that can develop many more of their kind and then give birth to new kind of cells. This types of cells come from the umbilical cord of a new born. This became a huge dilemma where there’s a competing with moral and ethical values. The rumor is a never ending debate. This dilemma is not just in the U.S.A, but all around the world since this stem cell are so effective even though there’s some places where stem cells is ether no restriction or restricted .
Around the nineteen hundred’s scientist there were some research about cell and there capability to reproduce. The first scientists that had a theory about cells was a German scientist called Theodor he had this theory that cell are basic structures of an animal but that was just a theory. In 1956 scientist E. Donnall Thomas was the first one to perform a bone marrow transplant and was able to cure a patient from leukemia. This was not a real problem back then when the problem started was when scientist discovers in 1978 that the blood of the umbilical cord of a new baby had hematopoietic stem cells. And the dilemma started because in order to save or cure someone’s disease scientists have to destroying the embryo’s stem cells where at the end the embryo is destroyed if not needed any more.
Why is this debate?? Scientist are creating and cloning embryos and this for some people is not ethical. They are keeping the embryos frozen, so when they need them there ready for use. The problem here is that in order to keep these embryos in good conditions for the experiment they have to keep them f...
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...by using this of stem cell. This is a debate that still on the table and has been out there for decades.
Works Cited
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O’Connor, Michael L., et al. "Cancer Stem Cells: A Contentious Hypothesis Now Moving Forward." Cancer Letters344.2 (2014): 180-187. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
One of the stronger arguments against the use of aborted fetuses is that an alternative source would be simpler and more efficient source of stem cells.
Medical researchers utilize this versatility to develop treatments for incurable diseases. Despite the considerable benefits of stem cells in medical applications, the use of some sources of stem cells is not ethical. In article 1761 of the Catholic Catechism, the church teaches "One may not do evil so that good may result from it.” The good of medical discoveries does not justify the evil of killing to obtain the stem cells. Therefore, people have a moral obligation to restrict the use of ethically collected stem cells such as those from umbilical cords or adult bone marrow. Stem cell research has potential to cure many diseases. However, in order to conduct ethical research, scientists must limit refrain from using fetal and embryonic stem
This is because I do not see the human embryo as being alive, a view even supported by the Church of Scotland, a group against therapeutic cloning, as they are “unsure about when life begins” in regards to the embryo. As the embryo is not alive, “killing” it to benefit a large number of people who would no longer suffer is morally acceptable. It would also prevent any suffering from anything similar ever again, again justifying using embryos for therapeutic cloning; a contrasting view to this would be the view of the Roman Catholic Church who believe that the human embryo is a part of God, and therefore harming the embryo is harming God. Therefore they completely disallow the collection of STEM cells from embryos and ignore the positive consequences that are a result of using STEM cells from
Embryonic stem cells which are taken from a fertilized egg, somatic stem cells which are fully matured cells taken from an adult, and the more recently found pluripotent stem cells which are those that can be induced through experimentation to take on specific functions (NIH, 2013). The history of using stem cells in experimentation dates back to 1998 with Dr. James Thompson. A biologist at the University of Wisconsin, Thompson discovered that embryonic stem cells that were isolated from other types of cells would transform into that type. This led to the assumption that stem cells could be used to advance medicine because they could possibly treat injuries and diseases (AAAS, 2012). The conflict surrounding stem cell research is, with ethical consideration, whether it is good or bad.
Imagine that there is a cure for nearly every ailment that affects the human race. Imagine that you could help the terminally ill, put those you love out of pain, and cut the healing time of an enormous number of serious illnesses in half. Imagine a world in which pain and suffering would be nearly nonexistent, and the people you love can live safe from the fear of crippling injury. Now what if I told you that this utopia was a fast approaching reality? Everything from serious life threatening burns to lymphoma, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, Muscular Dystrophy, Parkinson’s Disease, Spinal Cord Injury, and Strokes could, in the very near future, be eliminated through the simple culturing and implementation of stem cell therapy . These diseases are no small component of the myriad of conditions that plagues the human race, and yet, the end for these horrible maladies could very well be in sight. Man has always sought to end suffering, largely without success, until now. the promise that stem cell therapy holds could completely change our world for the better. Already, stem cell therapy is being used to treat leukemia, immune disorders, hodgkins and non-hodgkins lymphoma, anemia and a profusion of other ailments. As you all know, this is no small accomplishment. One day i believe that we may look at alzheimer's and diabetes and other major illnesses much like we look at polio today, as a treatable illness. Right now, our research with stem cells is providing us with new light into how we look at and model disease, our ability to understand why we get sick and even to develop new drugs. In 2008, a researcher from the New York Stem Cell Foundation Laborato...
The ethical issues behind the method in which stem cells are obtained out weigh the benefits of stem cell therapy. We should not try to play God, in the aspect of creation of living beings just to be sacrificed for the “betterment of mankind”. Many egregious acts have been committed under the guise of “the greater good”. This is one instance in which the ends do not justify the means.
Stem cells are an ongoing research project in which new discoveries are being made about them, and researchers are learning how to use them in new ways. The three current kinds of stem cells all prove to have their own challenges when it comes to using them. The important thing is finding out which stem cell is right for the patient and how much of an ethical concern there is when it comes to using the stem cell. As we learn the best way to use them and they become more popular in the medical field, stem cells will become a new weapon in the fight against certain diseases.
...ceptable, who believe it is not acceptable, and who question the personhood, life, and value of an embryo. Although there is no concise decision about the morality of stem cell research, that does not excuse it. Every human being, whether an embryo, a fetus, a newborn, five year old child, or adult, has an undeniable intrinsic value regardless of what individuals like Sandel and Glick say. This value of human life should not be intentionally destroyed by any means, or else it is immoral. Within embryonic stem cell research, a human life is being destroyed and devalued. Although these stem cells are being used to find cures and therapies for diseases and aid the medical world, these ends do not justify the means. Instead of spending time and money on an immoral act research should be done on adult stem cells since human life is not interrupted or destroyed this way.
Monroe, Kristen, et al., eds. Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate: The Scientific, Religious, Ethical and Political Issues. Los Angeles/Berkley: University of California Press, 2008. Print
Robertson, J. (2010). Embryo stem cell research: ten years of controversy. Journal Of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 38(2), 191-203. doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.2010.00479.x
From the discussion above it is very clear that there are different opinions on the pros and cons of stem cell research. Based on the recent researches, scientists have the capability to work out the alternatives for embryonic stem cell research. And the usefulness compare to embryonic stem cell remains unknown. Undeniably, the stem cell research issue has its most complex parts to be resolved and surmounted. But perhaps we can disclose the way to carry out stem cell research with the balance of bioethics and most importantly, do no harm for humankind one day.
Opposing Viewpoints offers unbiased opinions on the future of embryonic research as well as how they have currently been used to cure many diseases. In addition, the article specifies how developing ethical standards to ensure that the use of embryos remains moral, allows for science to remain ethical. Many of the topics mentioned in this viewpoint consider bioethics and remain consistent throughout. Essentially, the purpose of this article was to establish a middle ground between ethics and science.
Stem cells offer exciting promise for future therapies, but significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research. Stem Cells have the incredible potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. Scientists primarily work with two kinds of stem cells from animals and humans. The embryonic stem cells and the non-embryonic stem cells. Stem cells are the cells from which all other cells originate. In a human embryo, a large portion of the embryo’s cells are stem cells. These stem cells can be used for cell-based therapies. Cell-Based therapies are treatments in which stem cells are induced to differentiate into the specific cell type required to repair damaged or destroyed cells or tissues. Stem cells are versatile and offer the possibility to treat a number of diseases including Alzheimer’s, stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. The problem is that for the process of embryonic stem cell research and embryo will be destroyed if used. This raises a moral issue and questions of whether stem cell research is unethical or not.
In order to discover the ways for the remedy of diseases, studies in therapeutic approaches have been doing widely and kept increasing at accelerated pace. A lot of research areas had emerged for that purpose including one of the most fascinating and highly active areas at present, stem cells therapies. Due to self-renewal property and differentiation capability of stem cell, it becomes a new hope in modern treatment.
Researchers and officials say that about 400 000 frozen embryos are stored at several U.S. fertility clinics with the vast majority await removal because couples that have produced these embryos do not want to raise them and also don’t want another person(s) to raise their biological child.