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Stem Cell Research

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We all started off as an embryo. At one point in time, we were a small bundle of cells that would one day become who we are today. Those cells were essential to our body and the development of the fetuses that were us. Put yourself in the place of an embryo. You are a small blastocyst or a bunch of cell, only about 0.1 millimeters big. Even though you are slight and may seem insignificant, you hold all the opportunities of life. You have a soul and are alive, because you will become a human. The possibilities are endless; you could be a surfer, an artist, a chef, or anything else you wish. Now, imagine being taken out of the womb and you are killed. Then, experiments are conducted on you. All the potentials are now gone, and in their place is a dead fetus, being poked and prodded for “the advancement of science”. Embryos are being tested on because it “could lead to the discovery of new medical treatments” (Hug 1). Stem cell research can be beneficial, but uses unethical procedures to become beneficial. Stem-cell research destroys embryos that have a moral status, sacrifices one life for another, and is research that could potentially lead to even more harmful scientific advances.

Stem-cell research began in the 1800s.The term was first used in 1868. In 1909, a theory of blood cells coming from one ancestor cells was introduced. In 1957, E. Donnall Thomas attempted a bone marrow transplant. The first successful bone marrow transplant occurred in 1968. In 1981, two scientists studied the stem cells from mice embryos, the first stem cell from an embryo to be isolated. Experiments of mice embryonic stem cells continued until 1998, when the first human stem cells were experimented on. That led to the controversy of stem cell researc...

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...ong hands. This research could lead to clones and that could negatively impact the world. Even with all these cons, some people still argue that stem-cell research is good. We can find cures for people, but at the expense of new life. We aren't the ones who decide who lives and who doesn't.

Works Cited

"Boston Children's Hospital." Boston Childrens Hospital. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.

Hug, Kristina. "Embryonic Stem Cell Research: An Ethical Dilemma | Europe's Stem Cell Hub | EuroStemCell." EuroStemCell. EuroStemCell, 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.

"The New England Journal of Medicine." Embryo Ethics. Massachusetts Medical Society, 15 July 2004. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.

"Stem Cell Research." Explorable. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.

Watson, Stephanie, and Ph.D. Craig Freudenrich. "How Stem Cells Work." HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, 11 Nov. 2004. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
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