Ethics of Stem Cell Research

For example, a patient with nerve damage as a result of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can have some of their inactive ne... ... middle of paper ... ... conclusion, stem cells show great potential as pluripotent cells that can mimic the task of specialized cells throughout the body. Due to the numerous amount of genetic diseases in our society that have yet to have a cure, stem cell research must be furthered implored to make necessary advancements in the field of medicine despite the potentially harmful effects it can have to the human embryo. With this being said, the solution is that stem cells should be primarily obtained through the aborted in vitro fertilization. So stem cells don’t have to be extracted from living embryos, which means this process doesn’t have to be linked with abortion. This is good on both sides of the debate: the groups against stem cells research argue that killing an embryo doesn’t justify saving another life, while still satisfying the scientist that want to research stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells work to help cure diseases because of the fact that they can turn into any cell type the body needs. Scientists can manipulate embryonic stem cells into the cells that their patients need. The major questions regarding stem cell research are is it morally permissible to destroy an embryo in search of cures of diseases? Those who are against embryonic stem cell research would argue that stem cell research destroys a potential human life. On the other hand, those who are for stem cell research would argue that genetic tests and stem cell research can help detect and find cures for diseases that as of right now have no cures.

The embryos are destroyed in the process of isolating the stem cells. Once removed from an embryo, stem cells alone cannot form another embryo or develop into a human being. Many people consider it wrong to destroy human embryos, but other people believe that the potential medical benefits of stem cells justify their use. Scientists have found that stem cells can grow into 210 types of cells in the human body. Scientists believe that these cells can be used to cure many diseases that they have tried to find a cure for.

There are limits and using embryonic stem cells for research purposes requires the destruction of the human embryo, and putting an end to potential human life crosses the line. Life starts at conception, and all life started with these living cells. Another reason relevant to the lack of consensus is the ... ... middle of paper ... ... to cure, we can achieve the same goal of freeing people from cancer, and other diseases in an ethical, morally sound procedure by using adult stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells for research. I am informed of the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, and your recent addition of opening up federal funding for stem cell research, and acknowledge that embryos cannot be lawfully destroyed and the use of embryonic stem cell lines from prior to 2009. I propose to stop federally funded embryonic stem cell research, and research with the use of adult stem cells should be federally funded and furthered.

The large amount of attention was because of the answers stem cells held for diseases and other problems. The ethical dilemma was focused on the fact scientists were destroying human embryos. New advancements in technology may resolve this controversy and bring the fight to an end. Scientists have discovered how to make a patients cells act and respond like embryonic cells. This decreases the demand for human embryos in experimentation and instead uses stem cell therapies (Genetic Science Learning Center).

That was a major breakthrough in stem cell research. Scientists are now able to use embryonic stem cells to treat or cure diseases, but they are far from perfecting it to use on humans. The process of generating stem cells is done by the fertilizing of an egg through in vitro fertilization. If the embryo is healthy then it is divided and is multiplied several times. Then the embryo is destroyed and the stem cells are used.

Recently, a renewed interest has been taken into a specific type of cell called the stem cell. According to Wikipedia, stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialized cells and through mitosis (division of a cell in the nucleus), and can divide to produce more stem cells. These cells can be divided into two groups; adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells. Although stem cell research may bring about a positive change to our daily lives, the topic remains very debatable since many argue that stem cells may not live up to all of their expectations. Adult stem cells are relatively noncontroversial due to the fact t... ... middle of paper ... ...quivocal experiment.

The ethical question on why stem cells are controversial is “Is using stem cells from embryos right?” However, the question when politicians are included changes to “How can we fund research to killing potential people for their stem cells?” The definition of an embryo is altered from court case to court case to fit the need of the problem, making it more difficult to differentiate a fertilized egg from a person and halting progress to the stem cell industry. Taking into consideration the possible positive outcomes versus the sacrifice of an embryo is indeed debatable, but given a chance could have a clear answer to those ethical questions. Deciding what side of the ethical spectrum to fall under is complicated, but we ought to allow embryonic stem cell research for the sake of survival. Deciding if it is right to use embryonic stem cells means we should understand the process of obtaining them and where they are taken from. A stem cell is an unspecialized cell that our body produces to make all of our specialized cells.

The solution to these issues is to fund the stem cell research to give further information about how these cells work. Stem cells research has come along way since the nineteen hundreds and new forms of stem cells have been found. Although, there is a controversy of using embryos because embryo is life, stem cells have the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. According to the “Wonders of Life”, using embryonic stem cells are morally wrong, because they are aborted embryos which create vitro fertilization (Mirsky, Steve). People think that just because one stem cell has the potential to become a human being, research need... ... middle of paper ... ...trying to remove the damaged tissue and cause serious risks to the patient.

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 considered human and should deserve respect and rights the same as a human. In this term paper, two differing argumentative articles will be analyzed for ethical theories. The reason researches in the biomedical field want to harvest and test stem cells are because of their unknown capabilities to perhaps cure Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease and spinal cord injuries.