The Pros and Cons Side of the Embryonic Stem Cell Research Argument

The concept and subject of embryonic stem cell research has been an ongoing controversy by medics and politicians in the United States for many years. Although most people don’t share die same views about die topic and feel very strongly towards their own personal point of view, they generally fall into one of two categories; for embryonic stem cell research or against it.

Public funding to science and research is extremely crucial in the success and progress of research experiments. When funding is cut or reduced, it greatly impacts the ways that research experiments are able to succeed and it can be difficult getting funding back! Although embryonic stem cell research is making great waves in successful research experiments leading to the cure of diseases and illnesses today, the government didn’t allow any funding for the research in 2001 and didn’t start allowing it again undl 2009, which is precisely when research took off again presenting the public with medical breakthroughs leading to cures (Vakili, et al, 2015)

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When the topic of embryonic stem cell research comes to play, a lot of what people have to say supporting their personal viewpoints and beliefs has to do with ethics. Whether it is ethical or not comes to question when determining which “side” one is on. Many people who believe in ethics over the overall well being of healthcare are the ones who tend to be against embryonic stem cell research. Those who believe that the overall medical world can benefit from embryonic stem cell research leading to dozens of cures of diseases and illnesses are the ones who are typically for it. Along with that, a lot of people are unaware of exactly what goes on during embryonic stem cell research and due to their lack of knowledge on the subject, they feel otherwise when in reality, being more educated on the topic could lead to different feelings towards it (Manzar, et al, 2011).

Although there are some very obvious “pros” the subject of embryonic stem cell research, one of the most researched and successful have been having biomarkers lead to a cure for prostate cancer. In a research study done involving embryonic stem cells and “genoming” (cross matching genes), the cells actually led to a possible chance of survival for prostate cancer patients! This is because the embryonic stem cells have the ability to transform to become any kind of cell in the human body, and with the right mapping, they can actually replace the contaminated cancer cells that live in the human prostate. Just that alone is a remarkable medical breakthrough, and the discovery of the different cures that are a result of furthering research on embryonic stem cells is phenomenal (Peng, et al, 2014).

Along with that, embryonic stem cell research isn’t the most appealing to some people. Using stem cells as research currently stands as a controversial issue due to the fact that human embryos need to be destroyed in order to further conduct studies. Stem cell research has definitely had its toll on the “pro life” movement, causing many people to follow as. Many people believe that ethics don’t even come to play at this point because it is so cruel and wrong to be using embryo’s to conduct research, regardless of the positive outcome that it is bringing to the medical world. In many countries, embryonic stem cell research is completely forbidden for that reason. Moral values are at question when the argument for stem cell research is brought to play (Birnbacher).

Some researchers are actually working towards developing techniques to be able to isolate stem cells without the destruction or use of human embryos. Some of these methods include contracting embryonic stem cells from dead embyros and from biopsied blastomeres. Acquiring stem cells from embryos that are dead was out of reach for a long time because it was believed that the cells would also be dead, but it has been brought to recent attention that not all embryos are considered “brain dead” when they die, thus not all the cells die. The biopsied blastomeres method involves acquiring just one cell from a line of 8-cell stage embryo for genetic analysis and used to further research (Battey, 2005).

As you can see, there are many contributing factors to each side of the controversy as to whether or not embryonic stem cell research is considered ethical and should continue to be used for research purposes. This is a touchy subject that most avoid, but it is interesting to learn about the different factors that all come together to form such a unique research experiment and how the opinions of society shape this experiment to be considered appropriate or not.

References:

1. Battey, J. (2005). Alternative Methods of Obtaining Embryonic Stem Cells. Senate Testimony. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from
2. http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/statements/pages/20050712battey.aspx Birnbacher, D. (n.d.). Embryonic Stem Cell Research and the Argument of Complicity. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 18(1), 12-16. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from Academic Search Premier.
3. Manzar, N., Manzar, B., Hussain, N., Hussain, M., & Raza, S. (2011). The Ethical Dilemma of Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Sci Eng Ethics Science and Engineering Ethics, 19(1), 97-106. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from Academic Search Premier.
4. Peng, Z., Skoog, L., Hellborg, H., Jonstam, G., Wingmo, I., Hjalm-Eriksson, M.,... Li, C. (2014). An expression signature at diagnosis to estimate prostate cancer patients’ overall survival. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Disease, 17(1), 81-90. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from Academic Search Premier.
5. Vakili, K. (2015). Progress in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research in the United States between 2001 and 2005. PLOS One, 1-8. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from Academic Search Premier.

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