Stem cells research has been a very disputed topic among the US. There has been ethical issues concerning stem cell research and has caused friction in its track to its full potential. These ethical issues include the concern of moral status of embryos, in which stem cells are made of and the doomed embryos ands. Religion plays a huge role in the stem cell debate concerning issues with their religion. Several scientist that have been researching stem cells have agreed that stem cells have great potential to cure several harmful diseases like diabetes as well as cancer.Stem cell research should have an increase in its budget and less restricted to further help the research of potential cures to diseases like diabetes. Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First of all, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division. Second, under certain physiological or experimental conditions, they can be specialized to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions. In some organs, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. In other organs, such as the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions. Scientists discovered ways to get embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos in 1981. The in depth study of the biology of mouse stem cells led to the discovery, in 1998, of a method to get stem cells from human embryos and grow the cells in a laboratory. These cells are named human embryonic stem cells. The human embryonic stem cells used in these studies were created for research purposes and has from then on led to controversial issues surrounding them. Stem cells may have the potential to be grown to b... ... middle of paper ... ...in full swing. N.p., 14 Nov. 2013 Green, R., 2002, “Benefiting from ‘Evil’; An Incipient Moral Problem in Human Stem Cell Research,” Bioethics 16(6): 544–556. Knowles, Lori P. “Religion and Stem Cell Research” Stem Cell Network, For the Public, Ethics and Policy, Spring 2010. Mackenzie, Debra. “Stem Cells in Court.” New Scientist 215.2873(2012): 5.General Science Collection "Obama Overturns Bush Policy on Stem Cells." CNN. Cable News Network, 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. "Stem Cell Research Around the World." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. N.p., 17 July 2008. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. “The Stem Cell Debate: is it over?” The Stem Cell Debate: Is it over. N.p, n.d. Vestal, Christine. "Stem Cell Research at the Crossroads of Religion and Politics." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. N.p., 17 July 2008. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Stem cell research has been a heated and highly controversial debate for over a decade, which explains why there have been so many articles on the issue. Like all debates, the issue is based on two different arguments: the scientific evolution and the political war against that evolution. The debate proves itself to be so controversial that is both supported and opposed by many different people, organizations, and religions. There are many “emotional images [that] have been wielded” in an attempt to persuade one side to convert to the other (Hirsen). The stem cell research debate, accompanied by different rhetoric used to argue dissimilar points, comes to life in two articles and a speech: “Should Human Cloning Be Allowed? Yes, Don’t Impede Medical Progress” by Virginia Postrel; “Should Human Cloning Be Allowed? No, It’s a Moral Monstrosity” by Eric Cohen and William Kristol; and “Remarks by Ron Reagan, Jr., to the 2004 Democratic National Convention” by Ron Reagan, Jr. Ethos, pathos, and logos are the main categories differentiating the two arguments.
Stem cell research is a heavily debated topic that can stir trouble in even the tightest of Thanksgiving tables. The use cells found in the cells of embryos to replicate dead or dying cells is a truly baffling thought. To many, stem cell research has the potential to be Holy Grail of modern medicine. To many others, it is ultimately an unethical concept regardless of its capabilities. Due to how divided people are on the topic of stem cell research, its legality and acceptance are different everywhere. According to Utilitarianism, stem cell research should be permitted due to the amount of people it can save, however according to the Divine Command of Christianity, the means of collecting said stem cells are immoral and forbidden.
Davies, Mathew. " Episcopal Church leaders praise new stem cell research bill." . 25 May 2005. Worldwide Faith News. 23 July 2008 .
The conflict surrounding stem cell research is, with ethical consideration, whether it is a good or bad. The majority of Americans are advocates due to the possibilities of medical advancement, thus saving thousands of lives. Those in opposition believe that it is against
The President’s Council on Bioethics published “Monitoring Stem Cell Research” in 2004. This report was written in response to President Bush’s comments regarding research of human stem cells on August 9, 2001. President Bush announced that he was going to make federal funding available for research that involved existing lines of stem cells that came from embryos. He is the first president to provide any type of financial support for the research of human stem cells. A Council was created with people who are educated in the field of stem cells to help monitor the research and to recommend guidelines and consider the ethical consequences that this research could create. This report is an “update” given by the President’s Council in January of 2004 to make the public aware of the significant developments in the science and medical aspects of stem cell research. It also describes the ethical, legal and political implications that stem cell research may create. However, since the research is still in its beginning stages, this “update” does not describe a complete or definitive study of stem cells nor does it provide specific guidelines or regulations. This is a report that is suppose to help the President, Congress and general public make better-informed decisions as to the direction that we should go with stem cells.
Sansom, Dennis L., P.H.D. "How Much Respect do we Owe the Embryo? Limits to Embryonic Stem Cell Research." Ethics & Medicine 26.3 (2010): 161,173,131. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 13 Jan. 2012.
Snow, Nancy. “Stem Cell Research New Frontiers in Sciences and Ethics”. Houston Community College Library. 2004. Print. 10 Nov 2011.
PBS – Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (2001) Religious Views on Stem Cell Research [ONLINE] Available http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2001/07/27/july-27-2001-religious-views-on-stem-cell-research/15307/ (Accessed 30 March 2014)
The controversy behind the stem cell research has been raging since the first experiments. The United States Congress banned federally supported human-embryo research in 1996, forcing scientists to solicit funding from private sponsors. Since stem cells are harvested from aborted fetuses, the ethical issues surrounding abortion act as a stigma in the public’s view. However, in September of last year, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission concluded that harvesting stem cells from discarded embryos is morally akin to removing organs from dead people for transplant. Stem cell research continues to be very controversial, yet prevalent in the scientific community.
Holland, Suzanne, Karen Lebaqz, Laurie Zoloth. "The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate." Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2001.
Dr. Farouk Mahmoud; Conversations: ethics, science, stem cells. EuroStemCell. Youtube, 2013. Youtube. Web. 9 Dec 2013.
Anderson, Ryan. "Stem Cells: A Political History." First Things. First Things, November, 2008. Web. 10 Feb 2012.
Stem cells offer exciting promise for future therapies, but significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research. Stem Cells have the incredible potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. Scientists primarily work with two kinds of stem cells from animals and humans. The embryonic stem cells and the non-embryonic stem cells. Stem cells are the cells from which all other cells originate. In a human embryo, a large portion of the embryo’s cells are stem cells. These stem cells can be used for cell-based therapies. Cell-Based therapies are treatments in which stem cells are induced to differentiate into the specific cell type required to repair damaged or destroyed cells or tissues. Stem cells are versatile and offer the possibility to treat a number of diseases including Alzheimer’s, stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. The problem is that for the process of embryonic stem cell research and embryo will be destroyed if used. This raises a moral issue and questions of whether stem cell research is unethical or not.
Monroe, Kristen, et al., eds. Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate: The Scientific, Religious, Ethical and Political Issues. Los Angeles/Berkley: University of California Press, 2008. Print
The stem cell research controversy is one of the major headlines in bioscience and has been discussed and debated numerous times throughout the last decade or so.