Stem Cell Research Ethical Issues

Superior Essays
Throughout the short timeline of stem cell research, scientists have learned about the different types of stem cells and their functions while trying to avoid ethical and funding issues that arise as obstacles. Studies on human stem cells allow scientists to attempt to create cures for diseases like Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, and myocardial infarction while also better understanding the development and differentiation of human cells (Lo and Parham). Differentiation is the process of unspecialized cells changing into specialized cells. Scientists plan on changing stem cells into specialized cells that could be used in transplants (Lo and Parham). Although stem cell studies could advance the medical industry, it should not be used because …show more content…
Since private investors do not benefit directly from stem cell research, they have no reason to invest their money in it. Therefore, because of the lack of private investors, the continuation of research relies on federal funding (Robertson 194). However, disputes over moral principles may halt federal funding (Robertson 194).

Besides the research requiring government funding, stem cell research can also cause serious medical conditions from abnormal cell division, like birth defects or cancer (“Stem”). Stem cell lines that already exist and are stored may not be safe to transplant into humans (Lo and Parham). These long-standing lines have accumulated multiple mutations, including several that can develop cancer (Lo and Parham). The research on these cells may cause deadly side effects if they are injected into humans for treatment purposes.

Research on stem cells has been a continuing controversy since the first derived stem cells in 1998. Within less than 20 years, this field of study has faced numerous obstacles, including questionable moral values, money problems, and serious side effects. Stem cell research should not be conducted, and scientists should attempt to find cures and treatments by using other less harmful and costly

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The intern sighed as she threw away, yet again the remains of a manipulated human embryo into the receptacle. As the intern began to clean the petri dish that once held such a small but significant life, she wondered how the rest of the scientists took killing an innocent life so lightly. Stem cell research is beneficial because it helps to further the research towards the cure of diabetes, cancer, other various diseases and illnesses, and the advancement in the growth of such stem cells also helps further the research in organ growth. However, some ways the scientists conduct and carry out stem cell research is neither morally correct nor practical. Stem cell research helps further the advancement in the curing of diseases such as diabetes…

    • 1294 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Do you know someone with a disease like Alzheimer’s or diabetes? These people are in pain and having to struggle everyday knowing that, at this moment, there is not a cure for their illness. Doctors and scientists have been trying to fight these stubborn illnesses for decades, and were successful in finding a lead in 1998; which led to the development of embryonic stem cell research. The use of these stem cells, which are cells that can conform to any use or function that they need to, have been leading the way to help make great advances in medicine. Embryonic stem cell research should be viewed as a positive treatment option for patients.…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ethical Examination Overall, there is divergence in the opinions of the public, researchers, and politicians in regards to the ethics of embryonic stem cell research and the responsibility of policies in setting restrictions for what is legal and what is funded in this research. As already stated in this paper, the debate does not simple end with a simple explanation. Within the two sides of this debate there are six different ethical positions that are generally recognized. One, all utilization of human embryos for research is wrong (Greely, 2013). Two, surplus in-vitro embryos can be used, but additional ones cannot be made for the purpose of scientific research (Greely, 2013).…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Even though many moral and financial concerns form over this topic, laws and politics have taken these things into account and have compromised better solutions. With the increasing need for more medical technology, embryonic stem cell research has aided in scientific innovation, and it has shown itself as a valuable piece to its future; every day, new obstacles hinder scientists from achieving their goals with stem cell research. Various discoveries have proven stem cells worthy of additional research, despite its setbacks; legal support has eased much of these problems. Stem cells possess much needed information that will advance medical technology; its untapped potential will give light to new…

    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Embryonic stem cell research is an ongoing controversial topic that is still a major issue today. It is a subject that starts a debate every moment it is brought up. This topic will continue throughout time to be a controversial subject. There is one thing that will not change in this topic and it is the facts that go along with it. Each side has an argument that has information to back it up but there are important factors that will remain the same.…

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although scientific research has come a long way since the beginning of time, it has not done so without some kind of controversy. From Biopsychiatry to the Tuskegee Experiments, it seems as though there cannot be any scientific breakthrough without some kind of ethical issue. Stem cells are another example of a controversial treatment that is taking the medical field by storm. Although it is very controversial, it’s results are truly amazing and beneficial to anyone who is willing to give it a try. Stem cells have the potential to divide into special cells through a process called “mitosis”.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The use of human embryonic stem cells has been hailed as the next major step in the battle against serious degenerative disorders such as diabetes and heart disease, and for some, debilitating for lethal neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s. (Braude, Minger & Warwick). However this is a hotly debated issue. Ethical Dilemma The main controversy surrounding stem cell research isn’t about “if” it should be done or not, but rather what source of stem cells are okay to use and what methods are okay for obtaining them.…

    • 1830 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    One of the most debated topics in science is the use embryonic stem cells in scientific research. The ethical debate surrounding embryonic stem cell research comes down to two core values that we want to uphold: the alleviation of human suffering and preserving the inherent value of human life. Embryonic stem cell research is such a tricky topic because it requires us to choose between these two core values. We cannot uphold both values because the alleviation of suffering in this case is accomplished by the destruction of a human embryo, which would normally have the potential to develop into a new individual. Thus, we must fully examine both sides of the argument in order to understand the ethical implications of this issue.…

    • 1754 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagine a world where any medical ailment, whether it’s cancer or the common cold, can be cured. Broken bones are as easy to fix as a small scrape, and diseases like AIDS that kill white blood cells and weaken the immune system are not as life threatening as they used to be. While this fantasy world isn’t a reality, it could be. Enter the stem cell: An amazing feat of the human body.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The ethical problem that people are confronted with when discussing stem cell research is that in order for this research to happen, a child’s life must cease to exist. The federal government is currently in favor…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    With the recent political moves made by President Obama allowing federal funding to further research, the benefits are too excessive to stop the research and the number of live that can be saved cannot be overlooked. The debate on whether the cells are obtained ethically will always be a problem, but the methods that the researchers use are ethical. Embryonic stem cell research is the way of the future, and its research is here to change our lives and benefit all of…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Because the field of regenerative medicine is so new, the lack of federal regulation in relation to the harvesting of stem cells research is laden with ethical concerns, particularly regarding the ideas of personhood, human dignity, and justice toward humankind that arise from dealing with human life in one of its earliest forms, the embryo (Brind'Amour). Due to the sporadic and inconsistent nature of these regulations, many institutes avoid research, afraid to participate in the highly controversial research. However, the advent of induced pluripotent cells in regenerative medicine greatly decreases the need for stem cells. This decreased need will, with proper regulation, should eliminate the ethical walls that have dogged the field of regenerative…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Medical research has reached a point where it causes controversy and this is not the first time that a controversy revolves around medical research. Animal research has and still causes arguments within the medical field as to know whether or not it is morally correct to use animals as test subjects in medical research. The latest debate in the field is about whether or not embryonic stem cell research is morally acceptable. As the name implies, embryonic stem cells come from embryos. Stem cells can be described as blank cells, which means that they have yet to be assigned a purpose; they can become any kind of cell.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethics Behind Embryonic Research Roger Wicker, the representative of Mississippi in the U.S. Senate, said, “The choice is not between conducting the stem cell research or not conducting it. That is not the choice”. The ethical and moral debate surrounding stem cell research is not the research itself; it is how these stem cells are acquired. There is little doubt within the scientific community that stem cell research will result in many medical breakthroughs, much like the discovery of antibiotics in the 1940s.…

    • 1898 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The medical field is constantly growing and growing, discovering new diseases and cures that bring us one step further to understanding the world around us. However, one medical discovery has been hailed as “miraculous” and “a long needed breakthrough.” This medical discovery is better known as stem cell research, more specifically, the study of stem cells for medical applications. Stem cells are a special category of cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types, but also retain the ability to renew themselves through cell division. However, most of the controversy surrounding stem cell research is based on where stem cells are derived from.…

    • 1750 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays