The following viewpoints do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the writer or the Hillmen Messenger.
Imagine a man dying of liver failure. In hopes of survival, a doctor uses stem cells from the man’s own lymph nodes to grow a new and fully functioning liver. The world of medicine is breaking through barriers and going beyond what seems impossible. In stem cell research labs around the world, scientists can reduce a Parkinson’s victim’s symptoms by 80%, put leukemia patients into successful remission, and grow an insulin secreting pancreas from just a few pancreatic cells. Stem cell research has turned science fiction into reality.
In the beginning, researchers in this field had little to no support in their work; society considered it barbaric and cruel murder. However, in 2001 President George Bush cracked the door open for these scientists by allowing government funding for only those stem cell programs created only after the year 2001. Research was limited to 21 branches of stem cell research for eight years. In 2009, Barack Obama rescinded Bush’s policy allowing funding for stem cell lines created after 2001. However, the government still does not fund research on embryonic cells derived from sources other than embryos no longer needed for in vitro fertilization. During in vitro fertilization, more embryos are created than what is needed for in vitro. The excess embryos are all destroyed at the fertilization clinic if they are not implanted into the mother’s uterus.
The controversy surrounding this topic comes into play when scientists begin research on embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can be obtained four to five days after conception; at that point the organism is nothing more than a mass of cells grouped together in the uterus. Is research on an organism this simple really equivalent to the murder of a six year old child? Some people strongly believe so; Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron ofDetroitstated his opinion on the issue at the World Stem Cell Summit held inDetroit,
“If, indeed, we believe we were ‘created equal,’ doesn’t that belief extend to the indefensible living embryo in the petri dish?” said Vigneron.
The U.S. Government funds those stem cell establishments that only use subjects from fertility clinics. Research performed on embryos that are created solely to be destroyed for the sake of science is prohibited. Many people see these simple masses of cells as a living and breathing human beings who are sucked lifeless by the purely logical pipette of science. Others feel that scientists are playing God; creating and murdering life for their own benefit and curiosity.
Many think donating excessive embryonic cells is the most logical solution to the moral repeal of destroying embryos. These cells are doomed to die; therefore, it would be better to use them to potentially save the lives of others. These embryos could be just as accomplished and valuable as the researchers that extract their precious stem cells. This half of the spectrum is excited by the thought of what scientists are accomplishing with the help of stem cells. In the very near future, cancer could be cured, cloning could become a reality, patients with organ failure could simply grow a new liver or kidney, diabetes would vanish, and we could win the battle against Parkinson’s and other detrimental diseases.
Is the sacrifice of a few billion embryonic cells worth saving a few billion fully formed humans in the future? What if someone you love is diagnosed with a deadly disease that only the work of stem cell research could fix?
The line between morality and science has split the human race since the very first time that man challenged traditional religious beliefs. Stem cell research can be a touchy subject, especially in this era with new medical advancements occurring everyday. That is why it is crucial to do your research before declaring an opinion about science. It is the 21st century and scientific advancements are changing the world as we know it, will we let them change our morals with it?