The Ethics Debate Surrounding Stem Cells
Andrew McClarren
English 015
The debate regarding the ethics surrounding research and use of embryonic stem cells in medical treatment remains unsettled throughout the world. Embryonic stem cells possess the ability to save lives through reproductive growth properties despite moral oppositions proposed by conservative and religious lobbying organizations. Embryonic stem cells derive from developing embryos (the most basic stage of human life) which then are injected into another patient in order to cure an illness or more astonishingly, to help regrow lost body parts. These cells perform miraculous feats in terms of aiding a person back to wellness.
Despite the extraordinary results ES (embryonic stem) cells display, research fails to receive government funding based on statements made by conservative organizations. These bigoted groups make insistent claims that harvesting fetal tissue from a woman parallels murder. These outrageous notions hold untrue. To grant a woman permission to give her embryos up for research, her desire to donate must be entirely separate from a decision to terminate the pregnancy through abortion as discussed by John A. Robertson, Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (Robertson).
The major controversy lies in what fetal tissues or human embryos ultimately symbolize. To put the idea into perspective, Doctor of Philosophy Michael J. Sandel says, “Consider an analogy: although every oak tree was once an acorn, it does not follow that acorns are oak trees, or that I should treat the loss of an acorn eaten by a squirrel in my front yard as the same kind of loss as the death of an oak tree felled by a storm. Despite their developmental continuity, acorns and oak trees are different kinds of things. So are human embryos and human beings.” (Sandel). Human embryos lack life experience or the development of emotions, intelligence, or memories. These developing blastocysts have yet to be exposed to a
English 015
The debate regarding the ethics surrounding research and use of embryonic stem cells in medical treatment remains unsettled throughout the world. Embryonic stem cells possess the ability to save lives through reproductive growth properties despite moral oppositions proposed by conservative and religious lobbying organizations. Embryonic stem cells derive from developing embryos (the most basic stage of human life) which then are injected into another patient in order to cure an illness or more astonishingly, to help regrow lost body parts. These cells perform miraculous feats in terms of aiding a person back to wellness.
Despite the extraordinary results ES (embryonic stem) cells display, research fails to receive government funding based on statements made by conservative organizations. These bigoted groups make insistent claims that harvesting fetal tissue from a woman parallels murder. These outrageous notions hold untrue. To grant a woman permission to give her embryos up for research, her desire to donate must be entirely separate from a decision to terminate the pregnancy through abortion as discussed by John A. Robertson, Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (Robertson).
The major controversy lies in what fetal tissues or human embryos ultimately symbolize. To put the idea into perspective, Doctor of Philosophy Michael J. Sandel says, “Consider an analogy: although every oak tree was once an acorn, it does not follow that acorns are oak trees, or that I should treat the loss of an acorn eaten by a squirrel in my front yard as the same kind of loss as the death of an oak tree felled by a storm. Despite their developmental continuity, acorns and oak trees are different kinds of things. So are human embryos and human beings.” (Sandel). Human embryos lack life experience or the development of emotions, intelligence, or memories. These developing blastocysts have yet to be exposed to a