Stem Cell in the Philippines
The Impacts of the Popularization and Transnational Influence of Stem Cell on
Health Care and Federal Funding Issues in the Philippines As time goes by, there seems to be a gradual influence of modern sensibility on the way humans perceive the concept of health. In fact, nowadays, there seems to be a blurring of the line between health and wellness. Because of this, it is inevitable that in a modern society, people are now being more conscious with their body and their health is now being a worrisome for them. Thus, science, especially the field of medicine and health sciences, has permeated popular culture in a sense that people have already treated health as a “religion”. A perfect example of this phenomenon is the rising popularity of stem cell technology because it has already become a transnational activity and issue. Because of this technology’s transnational influence, governments around the world have been very supportive of it. And now, this transnational activity has entered the Philippine healthcare and medical discourse, and issues in its funding are arising. Although stem cell technology is a relatively new and promising technology which will help address health concerns in the country, the federal funding of this technology will only be a burden for the government for it is not a necessity, has questionable benefits, and is impractical and not practicable. This paper, then, seeks to determine the origin of how the concept of stem cell entered the Philippine health and medical discourse as well as issues regarding the federal funding of stem cell research and technology in the country. Furthermore, the writer wants to state that although this paper is arguing that the government should not fund stem cell research in the country, this paper is not trying to argue on the necessity, beneficiality, practicality, and practicability of stem cell research and technology in general, or should it be implemented in the country without federal funding.
Health Care and Federal Funding Issues in the Philippines As time goes by, there seems to be a gradual influence of modern sensibility on the way humans perceive the concept of health. In fact, nowadays, there seems to be a blurring of the line between health and wellness. Because of this, it is inevitable that in a modern society, people are now being more conscious with their body and their health is now being a worrisome for them. Thus, science, especially the field of medicine and health sciences, has permeated popular culture in a sense that people have already treated health as a “religion”. A perfect example of this phenomenon is the rising popularity of stem cell technology because it has already become a transnational activity and issue. Because of this technology’s transnational influence, governments around the world have been very supportive of it. And now, this transnational activity has entered the Philippine healthcare and medical discourse, and issues in its funding are arising. Although stem cell technology is a relatively new and promising technology which will help address health concerns in the country, the federal funding of this technology will only be a burden for the government for it is not a necessity, has questionable benefits, and is impractical and not practicable. This paper, then, seeks to determine the origin of how the concept of stem cell entered the Philippine health and medical discourse as well as issues regarding the federal funding of stem cell research and technology in the country. Furthermore, the writer wants to state that although this paper is arguing that the government should not fund stem cell research in the country, this paper is not trying to argue on the necessity, beneficiality, practicality, and practicability of stem cell research and technology in general, or should it be implemented in the country without federal funding.
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