Take a minute to imagine a world where some of the diseases once thought to be life threatening or altering could be cured. Diseases including lupus, Lou Gehrig’s disease, arthritis and countless others could very well be treatable. Many would consider a treatment like this to be considered a miracle, but miracle treatment is this, which can help numerous people with their pain and help alter the dismal quality of life that countless others are facing but, yet is denounced as an act against God? Now what if I told you that this life altering biomedical research wasn’t getting done, instead it’s being deliberated, tarnished and thrown to the way side by American politics and scorned in the court of public opinion due to a misinterpretation. This very research is the something we hear all over the news and in politics; considered by some politicians to be one of the key pieces in their journey to political stardom and their election, the research of stem cells, especially now that techniques are being developed to create stem cells from an individual’s own bodily tissues. Every day we hear about these amazing unspecialized cells, and we continue to hear that other researchers all over the world are discovering new uses for it every day but, yet our government has refused to support such life altering research. Why hasn’t are government supported this breakthrough medical research? My belief is that our government should support stem cell research clinics with federal funds to help save the lives of countless Americans noting that the benefits or such research far outweighs the downfalls.
There are several topics in America which no one talks about, unless they’re extremely close to the person they’re discussing it with, or they’...
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Over the past decade scientist and the U.S government have been debating about funds for stem cell research (SCR), the amount spent depends on who is in office. The Democratic Party fully supports SCR, but the Republican Party somewhat opposes the concept of SCR, arfuing it violates the Christian principle of life. As a result, this topic is considered controversial, but also beneficial if allowed. Despite the controversy, SCR should be well funded for medicinal use, because blank stem cells (SC) can be used to regenerate bones and muscle tissue, they can be used to control or even reverse neurodegenerative disease, and because they can be used for therapeutic cloning.
There are three main types of stem cell research which are currently being studied today. These types include umbilical-cord stem cells, adult stem cells, and embryonic stem cells. Due to their capability to develop into basically any kind of cell, stem cells exhibit a great promise in scientific experimentation. Scientists are pushing these forms of research due to the promise of finding cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke, spinal cord injuries, and other conditions and diseases. (Smith and Kaczor 48). The...
Because stem cells are essentially a blank slate, scientists are theoretically capable of growing any human tissue cell. There is enormous medical potential in this. Stem cell research is the next step in advancing the medical field. It is comparable to the discovery of penicillin or the inoculation for smallpox.
Stem cell research must be performed in order for scientists to develop a method full capable of repairing cells. The benefits of stem cell research greatly outweigh the controversies. In the long term, increased ability to cure diseases would decrease the cost of healthcare globally. In the short term, a lot of money is needed to obtain the knowledge required to save lives. In the long run, stem cell research is worth the money spent. This is only achievable if stem cell stu
...g stem cells destroys potential life, the benefit to the greater good greatly outweighs the destruction of potential life. In a perfect world with an unlimited amount of stem cells all diseases and illnesses could be cured. Those working in the medical world can greatly improve the quality of human life using stem cells. With stem cells, people will live longer, healthier, lives. Many diseases would be completely eliminated. However, only when scientists and doctors fully understand how to implement the embryonic stem cell, can all this happen. When the doctors and scientists have all of the lines they need, then they can cease destroying embryos to obtain the stem cells they require (More Ethical Stem Cells). The biological world and the field of stem cells specifically, require the support of the federal government as well as the people to make all this possible.
Scott, Christopher Thomas. Stem Cell Now: From the Experiment That Shook the World to the
Pearson J. “Point: The Potential of Stem Cell Research.” Points Of View: Stem Cell Research [serial online]. January 2013;:5. Available from: Points of View Reference Center, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 26, 2013.
Due to public awareness of science, people started realise that the stem cells have the potential in developing cell-based therapies for many uncured diseases. Objectors claimed that it is morally wrong for the government to advocate stem cell research because the research demands embryos’ destruction (National Bioethics Advisory Committee [NBAC], 1999, as cited in Nisbet, 2004).’’It’s immoral that hundreds of thousands of embryos are discarded yearly instead of used to research cures for human suffering.” (Gilbert, 2008).In 2001, President George W. Bush made his stand to oppose the stem cell research by l...
"Stem cell research is the key to developing cures for degenerative conditions like Parkinson's and motor neuron disease from which I and many others suffer." -- Stephen Hawking
Travis, John. New Sources and Uses for Stem Cells, Science News, Dec. 2, 2000, p. 23.
However, they do not bring to light when given fetal brain cells, some sufferers of Parkinson’s disease experience side effects like “head jerking, writhing, constant chewing, twisting, and arm-flailing” (OccupyTheory 5). This occurs because the patient’s body does not accept the foreign tissue of the embryos as their own. Even if the use of embryonic stem cells in Parkinson’s helps with the problems caused by the disease, it cannot cure it. When used to treat sclerosis or cancer, the cells injected into the human will require the use of drugs to prevent rejection from the tissue. Injecting embryonic cells can also cause rapid growth of unwanted tissue, or tumors. In addition to the threat of tumors, the long term side effects of stem cell therapy are still
Lindvall L, Z. Kokaia, and A. Martinez. 2004: Stem cell therapy for human neurodegenerative disorders–how to make it work. Nature Medicine. 10. P. 42-50
Mangus, D. (2004). Stem cell research should be more than a promise. Retrieved January 17, 2005 from Ebsco host research center.
“Stem Cells: The Future of Medicine.” Medschool.umaryland.edu. University of Maryland School of Medicine Web 14 Nov 2013
Soldner, F, Hockemeyer, D, Beard, C, Gao, Q, Bell, G, Cook, E, Hargus, G, Blak, A, Cooper, O, Mitalipova, M, Isacson, O, & Jaenisch, R, 2009. Parkinson’s Disease Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Free of Viral Reprogramming Factors. Cell, 136, 964-977.