QUESTION OF KNOWLEDGE: stem cell THEORY The debate is heated over the issue of embryonic stem cells used in medical research to find treatment for diseases such as Alzheimers disease, diabetes, and Parkinsons. This issue is so much like the continuation of the abortion issue debated by pro-life groups and pro-choice advocates. One of the most vocal in this issue is the religious sector, which believes that it is murder to experiment on human embryos and therefore such experiments should be considered illegal under current laws. Some of the embryos used in experiments are excess specimens from infertility laboratories and will later be disposed of anyway, so scientists argue that it would be better to make better use of those embryos than to just simply throwing them away. However, there are experiments that involve actual creation of embryos for stem cell research. Pro-life advocates see violations of moral guidelines in both types of research.
Are embryos regarded as a measure of the symbolic value for the human species? That is the contention of those against the stem cell researches. How much do these embryos represent human life potential? The Pro-life advocates would defend it with all their might. If studies on this continue, does this mean we are treating the human embryo as just a cluster of tissues and cells? For the advocates of life, the end does not justify the means? Thus, where does the other side of the controversy stand? In the stem-cell controversy, we are left to think thoughtfully about both sides or else we may find that therapeutic can even be problematic? Few people would treat embryos as mere commodities, things that can be bought, sold, traded, and destroyed at a whim. Contrary to what the pro-life advocates may think, even strong supporters of stem-cell research would tend to accord embryos a level of respect similar to that of animals used in medical research (Kinsley, Michael. 2005).
A Persuasive Essay For The Use Of Stem Cells For Research
... trem cell research are that to obtain stem cells, a scientist or embryologist must extract the cells from a human embryo. After the cells are ... six percent of those pro-llifers now were in support of stem cell research. How many other people oppose stem cell research just because the ... that a political one because it is not a pro-life, pro-choice issue, I agree. Tens of millions of Americans- ...
Why would this be the case, especially if one doesnt think that an embryo has rights? Perhaps it is because they may not be adult human beings with the full set of rights and privileges that goes with such a status, but they do represent human life.
Treating them like objects could lead to a cheapening of values like parenting and procreation. Michael Ruses book on The Stem Cell Controversy reveals the glaring choices between the two perspectives: To put things in context, it can take six or more embryos to produce enough cells to treat a Parkinsons sufferer successfully. Six embryos that have been produced artificially in order to harvest their cells, or six embryos that have been conceived naturally and then aborted, whether or not the abortion was done with the deliberate end of harvesting stem cells. But is it right to treat human beings in this way, or if you cavil at calling the early embryo a human being is it right to treat potential human beings in this way? In the same manner, If individuals fall sick, it is usually not their fault. Why then should they be denied the opportunity of cure? Why then should they be denied the opportunity of cure if already there is an abundant supply of the needed material anyway the millions of aborted fetuses that are already discarded every year? By what right should those who suffer be denied cure by the wishes or demands of those whose moral or religious convictions are not shared by the rest of us? (Ruse, Michael et.al.).
The Research paper on Stem Cell Cells Research Embryo
... retrieving stem cells from embryos is highly complicated and scientific, the ideology is quite simple. The study of stem cells that were taken from human embryos ... Alzheimer's, and Diabetes. Not only do stem cells show promise for cures to these diseases, but also they ... Atlanta, Georgia, was cured of his sickle cell anemia by receiving a stem cell injection. Although stem cells from umbilical cord ...
Both sides though have difficulty convincing the other that they are wrong.
For the ANTI-STEM advocates, scientists emphasize that these new therapies are not just a few years down the road. The more likely scenario is that they are decades away. Scientists have a long way to go in establishing more concrete solutions to mans illnesses. (Maddox, Tracy, 2001).
The major ethical problem here is that the blastocyst must be destroyed in order to retrieve these cells. Those who are against stem cell cure have firm convictions that this earliest embryo is human life worthy of protection.
Once the nucleus from sperm and egg unite in the newly fertilized egg, a biochemical cascade begins that leads inevitably to a baby nine months later as long as the embryo is in the proper environment (Krauthammer, Charles).
REFERENCES Charles Krauthammer, “The great stem cell hoax,” The Weekly Standard, August 20/August 27, 2001, p. 12 Kinsley, Michael. 2005. The False Controversy of Stem Cells, Time Archive, Article Retrieved 30 April 2006 at: http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,6 41157,00.html Maddox, Tracy. 2001, Fetal tissue fails to cure Parkinson’s patients.
Article Retrieved 30 April 2006 at: www.pointofview.net/ar_fetal.html. Stem Cell Controversy. News Batch. Article Retrieved 30 April 2006 at: http://www.newsbatch.com/stemcells.htm Ruse, Michael and Christopher A. Pynes. The Stem Cell Controversy: Debating the Issues, Prometheus Press.
Article Retrieved 30 April 2006 at: http://atheism.about.com/od/bookreviews/fr/StemCel lCont.htm.
