Science In Schools The Great Debate of Stem Cells
My essay today will educate you on the behalf of the stem cell. The Stem Cell is a very interesting thing indeed and I am so very excited to educate you on it. Aren’t you excited to read about them? Well, before reading into such a large scale issue perhaps some knowledge on what the subject is would be nice. So, to begin, a stem cell- just what the heck is that?
Stem cells by definition are: able to divide and make copies of themselves indefinitely. This is known as self-renewal—however it is not only limited to creating new stem cells they can also make many more cell types. These unique characteristics make stem cells indispensable, or crucial, to the replenishing cells throughout the body as they die and to help developing bodies along the way. So to round that all up into simple terms- stem cells are eggs. (SC1-SC2)
How? Well that’s simple- eggs all start out as eggs; however they can be used in several different recipes. Omelets, cakes, cookies, or pancakes it’s the same idea as stem cells becoming different cells. It is also the same like unto the idea that if you take away the stem cell the recipe is the same. So like a stem cell or an egg- they are both key ingredients.
Now, I entitled my report as “The Great Debate,” how does that have anything to do with this strange topic? When we use stem cells we discard the embryo, and it is thought that human life is ultimately de-valued by this act. This paves a slippery slope for further scientific procedures that similarly de-value life. In particular, there are many religious groups who are pro-life and have condemned embryonic stem cell research as well as all of its applications. Other arguments against embryonic stem cells cite the fact that adult stem cells are the ones currently being used in therapies and thus, there is no need to even venture into embryonic stem cell territory. The point being that most people find the technique in which you obtain a stem cell, not necessarily humane. (C1)
However, even with that opposition-there are those who still support embryonic stem cell research. They believe that an embryo is not equivalent to human life because it is inside the womb and therefore it is not an act of inhumanity just simply a scientific experiment. Supporters also argue that many diseases and conditions helped by stem cell usage are sufficient to warrant the use of this promising therapy. (C1)
Yet another argument for embryonic stem cell research is that the embryos are leftover from in-vitro fertilization. This meaning that they would otherwise be destroyed. This means that rather than putting them to waste we should instead be putting them to greater use, which I agree with. Although there were many great arguments back and forth I think that ultimately the stronger reasons were on the side of doing rather than not. (C1)
In my opinion when you have situations like such, you have a choice to make and no matter what you do you’ll end up making enemies of someone. So, obviously I’d go for the one that will ultimately benefit the most people. If you were to ‘save’ a single embryo by sparing them rather than not, that’s a single life saved rather than the millions we could help from producing answers from tests we could have conducted on it. This being said I think that rather than sparing a single life I’d support it and help more people.
Besides the fact that I would rather help the majority rather than a single person in particular, I also think that even if we did outlaw this sort of research there would still be someone in some basement in the middle of nowhere doing the exact thing we said not to. So why even try to prevent something that’s impossible? Why enforce something you can’t? This being said I conclude my paper with these final words; I do support researching stem cells and conducting experiments.
References/ Resources
Stem Cells (SC)
1.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/stem_cell/ - Video/Definition
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell - Definition
3.http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/Pages/Default.aspx - Basics
Controversy (C)
1.http://www.explorestemcells.co.uk/stemcellcontroversy.html - Good and Bad
2.http://www.news-medical.net/health/Stem-Cell-Controversy.aspx - Embryo Use
3.http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,167245,00.html - Chain Reaction