Carl Testi (Edison) Stem Cell Research

The issue of stem cell research really has two main view points to it. It contains those who see it as immoral and those who see it as innovation and advancement. It has caused an uproar of moral, scientific and political debates all over the country. I think that stem cell research is taking a negative like abortion and turning it into a positive like abortion. I think that under these circumstances, it is a helpful and useful technological advancement. I do not agree with the destruction of embryos solely for the purpose of research, but the embryos that are saved from abortions are being used in a helpful way. It causes a lot of tension because many think that a loss of a potential human life to save a life already living is immoral. I agree with that statement entirely, however if the life was going to be lost anyway or if the life would not have been created in the first place, except for the research, then is it really a loss of human life? That is the big moral debate. In the scientific realm of this debate, is the scientist’s proof of all the good that can come from this research including the fact that diseases that affect approximately 100 million people every year can possibly be cured from this research. Transplanted stem cells have the capability to form into the host cell causing it to function and reproduce properly. Even if this does not occur, it can strengthen the host cell and cause further damage or stimulate the production of new blood vessels which can aid in the restoration of these host cells. Parkinson’s disease affects many people all over the world. It is caused by the loss of dopamine-secreting cells in the brain. It causes a loss of the function of the muscles in the body causing tremors. The disease renders victims unable to function themselves. If a diseases such as this can be stopped in any way, why wouldn’t we, as a country, want to put people out of suffering? A major issue with the illegalization of stem cell research is that abortion is legal. If it is alright for a mother to kill an embryo growing inside her, then it is not wrong to take an embryo and use it for research. If anything, it would make more sense to legalize embryotic research because then there would be a result of the so-called “murder.” At least an embryo taken from the process of in vitro fertilization would not have developed anyway. It would stay in a clinic until it was disposed of. It had no potential for life. An embryo inside it’s mother’s body is growing; it was not made in a petri dish. Another reason that laws should change, is the benefits that stem cell research could provide for the government. If stem cells are as successful as expected, it could save thousands of government dollars that are being spent on medical funding. It could provide answers to questions researchers are looking for like reasons why certain people have different responses to medicines or answers to current medical issues. Another major political debate is where the funding for this research would come from. It is said that it would be unjust of the government to provide funding for a cause that many people disagree with, but this is not valid because no matter what the government does, there will be objectors. Nothing would ever be done by the government if everyone had to agree on it. It is just impossibility

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