Against Stem Cell Research Results Of Debate
The topic of stem cell research has been in the news for the last several years and periodically, the topic surfaces again raising the debate about this type of research. Many people are against stem cell research and appear to have some very valid reasons behind their opinion. The most powerful type of stem cells comes from human embryos that are no longer wanted by the parents. In many instances, the parents went to a fertility clinic and had a few dozen eggs fertilized. Some of these were implanted and resulted in a pregnancy for the couple. But, what happened to the remaining embryos has now become a major issue of controversy around the world.
In many instances, the surplus embryos are just destroyed after the owners give their permission. For a while, scientists were getting permission from the parents to use the embryos in scientific experiments. That is how researchers first learned about the powerful healing capacity that was in the embryos stem cells. As the media began to tell the public about this issue, people against stem cell research started to speak out against the use of the embryos. Their belief system included that the embryo was a form of human life. The embryo was definitely alive and it carried human DNA-so, this made it human and experimentation on humans is not allowed. The pro-life people are very vocal about the fact that they are against stem cell research if it involves human embryos. The church has also taken a position that this is immoral. The many people that are against stem cell research do not believe that all stem cell research is bad-only that which involves human embryos. In fact, they support the continued research of stem cells from people and from umbilical cords collected at a child's birth. They have worked closely with legislators and made their positions clear with the media that they are hopeful that stem cell research will make advances in medical care better, but not at the cost of a human embryo's life. Those who are against stem cell research using human embryos believe that man has been given the opportunity and right to live on this planet and that everyone has a beginning and an end and that we are morally condemning ourselves if we choose to kill innocent unborn children in the hope of extended our own lives. Regardless of your position for or against stem cell research using human embryos, remember that there are other ways that stem cell research can be done. Look into the possibility of donating a sample of your own blood to be used in a research project that works with stem cell issues. |