Stem Cell Research Persuasive Speech

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Thesis – despite the stigma surrounding stem cell research, the many potential benefits of stem cell research in the scientific, clinical and medical settings outweigh the negatives.
Intro – Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) have unlimited potential to produce specialised cells of the body, which suggests enormous possibilities for disease research and for providing new therapies.
Pros
Stem cell research can potentially help treat a range of medical problems. It could lead humanity closer to better treatment and possibly cure a number of diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Heart Diseases, Stroke and Diabetes (Type 1), Birth Defects, Spinal Cord Injuries, Replace or Repair Damaged Organs, Reduced Risk of Transplantation (You …show more content…

Barry Pierce Jr. isolated a single type of cell from a teratocarcinoma, a tumour now known to be derived from a germ cell. These cells isolated from the teratocarcinoma replicated and grew in cell culture as a stem cell and are now known as embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells. Although similarities in morphology and differentiating potential (pluripotency) led to the use of EC cells as the in vitro model for early mouse development, EC cells harbour genetic mutations and often abnormal karyotypes that accumulated during the development of the teratocarcinoma. These genetic abnormalities further emphasised the need to be able to culture pluripotent cells directly from the inner cell …show more content…

Argument 2 – Paul Billings, co-founder of GeneSage, has been involved in crafting an international treaty to ban human reproductive cloning and germ-line genetic engineering. As arguments against human cloning he cited:
- There is no right to have a genetically related child.
- Cloning is not safe.
- Cloning is not medically necessary.
- Cloning could not be delivered in an equitable manner.
Billings also believes that the benefits of stem cell therapies have been "wildly oversold." Currently, he argues, there are no effective treatments coming from this research. He is also concerned about how developing abilities in nuclear transfer technology may have applications in germ-line genetic engineering that we do not want to encourage. As a result, he favors the current go-slow approach of banning the creation of new cell lines until some therapies have been proven effective. At the same time, he believes we must work to better the situation of the poor and marginalized so their access to all therapies is

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