Is Stem Cell Research for the Best

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Needs to be 2+ pages

Is Stem Cell Research for the Best?

Thesis: Stem cell research may indeed lead to many innovative new therapies, but the pathway should also be in harmony with the goal in mind; therefore, the use of the embryo should be avoided.

1. Someone close is dying of Alzheimer’s disease.
   1. Medical research may offer hope.
      1. Medical breakthroughs in the past have helped many people.
      2. How far should medical research be pursued remains controversial.
   2. Stem cell research is an advanced form of medical research.
      1. Embryonic stem cell research is controversial.
      2. The various types of stem cell research require scrutiny.
   3. Stem cell research is surrounded by specialized terminology.
      1. Stem cells have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells.
      2. The source and type of stem cell is important.
         1. Embryos have totipotent stem cells which are thought to have the greatest potential.
         2. The fetus contains pluripotent stem cells which can form most other cell types.

• Adult stem cells are considered multipotent which are limited to specific cell types.

• There is limited scientific basis to pursue embryonic stem cell research.
  1. The totipotency of cultured embryonic stem cells has not been demonstrated.
  2. The scientific advances of stem cell research are often misrepresented.
  3. Embryonic stem cell research has medical disadvantages.
     1. The bodies’ normal immune response is to attack foreign embryonic stem cells.
     2. Scientists do not have sufficient knowledge of what constitutes a normal cell so procedures involving them may be unexpectedly dangerous.

• There is insufficient evidence from animal studies to start human experimentation.

1. Adult stem cell research is a better alternative to embryonic stem cell research.
   1. Adult stem cells already have been proven successful.
   2. Adult stem cells do not raise the same ethical issues.
2. The moral justifications surrounding the use of the embryo are weak.
   1. The ends do not justify the means.
   2. Emotional appeals are not needed and only cloud the issues.
   3. A worldview based on spiritualistic naturalism is subjective and relativistic.
   4. The legal status of the embryo is centered on individual rights.
      1. Advocates of abortion have a vested interest to defend the current legal status assigned to the embryo.
      2. The embryo should by viewed objectively and independent of its political value.

• The life of the embryo is not protected.

1. Morality is important to a society.
   1. The moral issues of embryonic stem cell research should be at the heart of political and legal reasoning.
   2. A moral society should have the highest regard for human life.
   3. The embryo is a human life at a common stage of development and should therefore be protected.

Conclusion: The embryo is a human life at a stage of development common to us all and should therefore be protected.  Stem cell research has benefited many, however, any use of the embryo should be avoided especially since adult stem cell research is a viable option which does not present the same moral dilemmas.

Works Cited

Committee on the Biological and Biomedical Applications of Stem Cell Research, Commission on Life Sciences National Council.  Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine.  Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press., 2002.

Condic, Maureen L.  “Adult Stem Cell Research Should Replace Embryonic Stem Cell Research”  Medical Ethics.  Ed. Laura K. Egendorf.  San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.  SSC Library, St. Peters.  16 March 2006 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVRC>.

Ginsberg, Benjamin, Theodore J. Lowi, and Margaret Weir.  We the People: An Introduction to American Politics.  5^th ed.  New York: Norton, 2005.  556.

Hollinger, Dennis P.  “Embryonic Stem Cell Research is Not Ethical.”  The Ethics of Genetic Engineering.  Ed. Maurya Siedler.  San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005.  Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.  SSC Library, St. Peters.  16 March 2006 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVRC>.

Hollowell, Kelly.  “Federal Stem Cell Research: What Taxpayers Should Know.”  Heritage Foundation Reports  24 June 2005 No. 888.  Academic Universe.  Lexis-Nexis.  SCC Library, St. Peters.  16 March 2006 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/>.

National Institutes of Health.  ”Stem Cells: A Primer.”  The Stem Cell Controversy: Debating the Issues.  Ed. Michael Ruse and Christopher A. Pynes.  New York:  Prometheus Books, 2003.  25-34.