Stem Cell Research and Government Funding: Separate the Church and State
Throughout history, religious beliefs have always had an influence on science, medicine, and politics. In the 1600s, Galileo was tried and imprisoned by the Roman Catholic Church as a heretic for promoting Heliocentrism (the idea that the earth revolves around the sun).He died under imprisonment. Jehovah 's Witnesses believe that their Bible prohibits accepting blood transfusions. Until recently, Jehovah 's Witnesses were also prohibited from receiving organ transplants. For those who do not share these religious beliefs, there is sorrow at what seems to be needless death. Religious beliefs have also affected politics for centuries. Previously, The Bible had been …show more content…
Differentiated stem cells are stem cells that are only capable of becoming one type of specific cell; for example, skin cells (slack 3). Skin cells will produce only more skin cells; they are not capable of becoming, say, heart cells. Undifferentiated stem cells are cells that have the potential to be stimulated into growing into any type of cell desired; these cells are called pluripotent. “Pluripotent stem cells are the primary choice for medical researchers seeking to develop therapies because these cells can develop into any of the three primary tissue types…[endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm]” (Bellomo 35) The only place scientist can harvest these pluripotent cells is from the center of the blastocyst, which is the initial fertilization of the human egg. Without the presence of a womb, these cells do not have the capacity to grow into a human being on their own. Human embryonic stem cells are not embryos. “They are not whole organisms, nor can they be made (directly) to become whole organisms” (Saltzberg 600). Once removed, they obtain the ability to grow indefinitely in tissue culture and to be programmed to become any type of cell desired (Bellomo 37). Obtained from unused fertilized eggs created in vitro,these valuable pluripotent cells are what are referred to as the embryonic stem cells- this is when the moral controversy
Throughout history, religious beliefs have always had an influence on science, medicine, and politics. In the 1600s, Galileo was tried and imprisoned by the Roman Catholic Church as a heretic for promoting Heliocentrism (the idea that the earth revolves around the sun).He died under imprisonment. Jehovah 's Witnesses believe that their Bible prohibits accepting blood transfusions. Until recently, Jehovah 's Witnesses were also prohibited from receiving organ transplants. For those who do not share these religious beliefs, there is sorrow at what seems to be needless death. Religious beliefs have also affected politics for centuries. Previously, The Bible had been …show more content…
Differentiated stem cells are stem cells that are only capable of becoming one type of specific cell; for example, skin cells (slack 3). Skin cells will produce only more skin cells; they are not capable of becoming, say, heart cells. Undifferentiated stem cells are cells that have the potential to be stimulated into growing into any type of cell desired; these cells are called pluripotent. “Pluripotent stem cells are the primary choice for medical researchers seeking to develop therapies because these cells can develop into any of the three primary tissue types…[endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm]” (Bellomo 35) The only place scientist can harvest these pluripotent cells is from the center of the blastocyst, which is the initial fertilization of the human egg. Without the presence of a womb, these cells do not have the capacity to grow into a human being on their own. Human embryonic stem cells are not embryos. “They are not whole organisms, nor can they be made (directly) to become whole organisms” (Saltzberg 600). Once removed, they obtain the ability to grow indefinitely in tissue culture and to be programmed to become any type of cell desired (Bellomo 37). Obtained from unused fertilized eggs created in vitro,these valuable pluripotent cells are what are referred to as the embryonic stem cells- this is when the moral controversy