I’m sure some of you have had a friend or family member who has passed as the result of an incurable disease. Stem cells have the remarkable medical potential to cure a myriad of degenerative diseases. According to Rosemary Tong, a biomedical ethicist, stem cell research has the potential to develop treatment for 58 million Americans with heart disease, 82 million with cancer, 4 million with Alzheimer’s disease, along with many others. A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell that is capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type, and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation. These cells are used for medical research because they can produce new cells to replace damaged tissue in the body. Embryonic
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Some believe that an embryo possesses the same individuality that a human adult does, and should be treated as such. But how can it be argued that an embryo is an individual when it simply lacks any type of consciousness, awareness, personality, thoughts, tastes, memories, or life experience? In addition, the embryo could not even survive on its own outside of the uterine cavity of the mother. Those who equate the embryo to an adult human person often base this opinion on the belief that life begins at conception. However, there is no specific point of “conception” one can point to where life begins, because fertilization is a process that takes 24 hours. Critics argue that although killing an embryo is not equivalent to killing an adult human person, it is the destruction of human potential. This argument is quite optimistic, seeing to believe that any embryo will be born with no complications or health issues, and grow up to become President of the United States. First, this argument does not consider reasons for terminating the pregnancy, such as those that pose a risk to the mother’s health and/or safety, conception through rape or incest, or parents who are not financially ready to have a child. In fact, most embryonic stem cells used for research will never be implanted in a uterus, and will never have any “potential” in the first place. Plus, the ones derived from embryos and fetuses that are aborted while in the womb will be discarded anyway. How is using the embryo for research purposes any worse than simply discarding it? The largest opposition of course, comes from religious groups. The Catholic Church believes that the embryo is precious human life, not to be destroyed for the purpose of research. Pope John Paul II once said: “Experience is already showing how a tragic coarsening of consciences accompanies the
Some believe that an embryo possesses the same individuality that a human adult does, and should be treated as such. But how can it be argued that an embryo is an individual when it simply lacks any type of consciousness, awareness, personality, thoughts, tastes, memories, or life experience? In addition, the embryo could not even survive on its own outside of the uterine cavity of the mother. Those who equate the embryo to an adult human person often base this opinion on the belief that life begins at conception. However, there is no specific point of “conception” one can point to where life begins, because fertilization is a process that takes 24 hours. Critics argue that although killing an embryo is not equivalent to killing an adult human person, it is the destruction of human potential. This argument is quite optimistic, seeing to believe that any embryo will be born with no complications or health issues, and grow up to become President of the United States. First, this argument does not consider reasons for terminating the pregnancy, such as those that pose a risk to the mother’s health and/or safety, conception through rape or incest, or parents who are not financially ready to have a child. In fact, most embryonic stem cells used for research will never be implanted in a uterus, and will never have any “potential” in the first place. Plus, the ones derived from embryos and fetuses that are aborted while in the womb will be discarded anyway. How is using the embryo for research purposes any worse than simply discarding it? The largest opposition of course, comes from religious groups. The Catholic Church believes that the embryo is precious human life, not to be destroyed for the purpose of research. Pope John Paul II once said: “Experience is already showing how a tragic coarsening of consciences accompanies the