Stem Cell Research
Stem Cell Research
Stem cell research is no longer a future unrealistic concept, it is here and having enormous impacts on the medical field. Stem cells are the primary cells that can be trained to develop into any human cell tissue such as muscle, skin, and brain. However, in embryonic stem cell research, to retrieve stem cells from embryos requires a process called therapeutic cloning where a person’s DNA is put into an unfertilized human egg (effectively cloning a person), the embryo is then grown for a few days before it is destroyed, producing stem cells identical to the donor person, supposedly, without any likelihood of rejection once injected.
It is argued that the good that can come from such research outweighs the moral risk that human life will be devalued in the process. A great deal of human suffering stands to be alleviated if the research is successful. There is no ethical objection to research on embryos that would otherwise be discarded. Not one extra embryo would die as a result of the procedure, but many children and adults may live as a result of successful research. It is also said that opponents should look at what they are really fighting against and at the moment it appears to be revolutionary medical cures that will improve the lifestyles of thousands of people. They claim that those who disapprove of this are not open minded enough to consider the potential benefits that the type of research could bring, however the most interesting claims I’ve heard is that scientists have covered a campaign of misinformation. The diabetics and those who suffer Alzheimer or Parkinson’s disease have been promised hopes of cure that are actually non-existent. The advocates of destructive experimentation on embryos do so on utilitarian grounds alone. They conjure up the appealing picture of a world free of some of the diseases that afflict us when in fact; they cannot create it at all.
One of the debates on embryos is whether it is a human being or
Stem cell research is no longer a future unrealistic concept, it is here and having enormous impacts on the medical field. Stem cells are the primary cells that can be trained to develop into any human cell tissue such as muscle, skin, and brain. However, in embryonic stem cell research, to retrieve stem cells from embryos requires a process called therapeutic cloning where a person’s DNA is put into an unfertilized human egg (effectively cloning a person), the embryo is then grown for a few days before it is destroyed, producing stem cells identical to the donor person, supposedly, without any likelihood of rejection once injected.
It is argued that the good that can come from such research outweighs the moral risk that human life will be devalued in the process. A great deal of human suffering stands to be alleviated if the research is successful. There is no ethical objection to research on embryos that would otherwise be discarded. Not one extra embryo would die as a result of the procedure, but many children and adults may live as a result of successful research. It is also said that opponents should look at what they are really fighting against and at the moment it appears to be revolutionary medical cures that will improve the lifestyles of thousands of people. They claim that those who disapprove of this are not open minded enough to consider the potential benefits that the type of research could bring, however the most interesting claims I’ve heard is that scientists have covered a campaign of misinformation. The diabetics and those who suffer Alzheimer or Parkinson’s disease have been promised hopes of cure that are actually non-existent. The advocates of destructive experimentation on embryos do so on utilitarian grounds alone. They conjure up the appealing picture of a world free of some of the diseases that afflict us when in fact; they cannot create it at all.
One of the debates on embryos is whether it is a human being or