Stem Cell Research - a Moral and Ethical Debate
Stem Cell Research:
A Moral and Ethical Debate
Stem Cell Research
A Moral and Ethical Debate Imagine your life at the age of 32. It is as perfect as you could have ever imagined it. You are married with three beautiful children; two girls and a boy. Your oldest daughter is complaining of stumbling and clumsiness, so you take her to the doctor. You are devastated to learn that she, along with your other two children, have a neurological disorder called Batten Disease. This is a rare but always fatal disease. You are now going to have to go through what no parent ever wants to go through. You will have to watch your children wilt away like flowers. They will go blind, lose all motor skills, suffer from dementia and die a horrific, prolonged death. You will have to bury not only one, but all three of your children. This is a story of the Pinder family, whose children I went to school with. The oldest two children, both girls, are now deceased, and the youngest, a boy, is progressively getting worse. Unfortunately there is no cure for this disease on the market yet. The FDA has recently approved a clinical trial to use brain stem cells of fetal tissue to treat this disease; however the funding for stem cell research is either non-existent, or tied up in the court systems due to ethical and moral issues (Stem-Cell Funding’s). Even with the release of the funds for embryonic stem cell research, it would be too late to treat the last Pinder child. After seeing this family go through the loss of two children, and waiting in emotional turmoil for the death of their last child, I am for the study and research of embryonic stem cells. I hope that it could one day save families from the pain the Pinder’s are currently in. Inside of an embryo that has only been fertilized for five days, are cells whose fate has yet to be determined. They are not brain cells or cells of the heart, or any of the other 220 different cells in the human body (Watson).
A Moral and Ethical Debate
Stem Cell Research
A Moral and Ethical Debate Imagine your life at the age of 32. It is as perfect as you could have ever imagined it. You are married with three beautiful children; two girls and a boy. Your oldest daughter is complaining of stumbling and clumsiness, so you take her to the doctor. You are devastated to learn that she, along with your other two children, have a neurological disorder called Batten Disease. This is a rare but always fatal disease. You are now going to have to go through what no parent ever wants to go through. You will have to watch your children wilt away like flowers. They will go blind, lose all motor skills, suffer from dementia and die a horrific, prolonged death. You will have to bury not only one, but all three of your children. This is a story of the Pinder family, whose children I went to school with. The oldest two children, both girls, are now deceased, and the youngest, a boy, is progressively getting worse. Unfortunately there is no cure for this disease on the market yet. The FDA has recently approved a clinical trial to use brain stem cells of fetal tissue to treat this disease; however the funding for stem cell research is either non-existent, or tied up in the court systems due to ethical and moral issues (Stem-Cell Funding’s). Even with the release of the funds for embryonic stem cell research, it would be too late to treat the last Pinder child. After seeing this family go through the loss of two children, and waiting in emotional turmoil for the death of their last child, I am for the study and research of embryonic stem cells. I hope that it could one day save families from the pain the Pinder’s are currently in. Inside of an embryo that has only been fertilized for five days, are cells whose fate has yet to be determined. They are not brain cells or cells of the heart, or any of the other 220 different cells in the human body (Watson).
References: “Bush Vetoes Embryonic Stem-Cell Bill.” CNN.com 20 July 2006. 22 July 2006 http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/19/stemcells.veto Campbell, Neil A., Jane B. Reece, Eric J. Simon. (2004) Essential Biology (2nd ed.). San Francisco, California: Pearson Education, Inc. “Schwarzenegger Gives $150M Stem Cell Loan.” USAToday.com. 22 July 2006. 23 July 2006 http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-0722-california-stem-cells_x.htm “Scientist Hopes for Stem Cell Success.” CBSNews.com. 26 Feb. 2006. 22 July 2006. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/2/60minutes/main1341635.shtml “Stem-Cell Funding’s Private Side”. Wall Street Journal.com 28 July 2006 www.WallStreetJournal.com “Stem Cells: Miracle or Mayhem?” When Stems Go Bad. 10 August 2006 http://www.ric.edu/tiskus/Stem Cells/Index.htm Stem Cell Research Foundation. July 2006. Stem Cell Research Foundation. 14 July 2006 http://www.stemcellresearchfoundation.org Watson, Stephanie. “How Stem Cells Work.” How Stuff Works. 24 July 2006. http://science.howstuffworks.com/stem-cell.htm