Stem Cell Controversy
Stem Cell Controversy
Stem cells were first isolated and cultured in November of 1998 and have been surrounded with much debate and controversy since day one. “Although the ethical debates have been mostly static and have closely mimicked the ethical debates over abortion, the political determinations concerning federal funding of stem cell research have gone through numerous evolutions in the years since the first hESCs were isolated and cultured” (Saltzberg 505). Research is currently being conducted on stem cells, but only with private funds. The federal government has a ban on funding embryonic stem cell research because of the controversial issue of using embryos and fetuses. However, because of the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat many diseases, conditions, and disabilities, the federal government should fund stem cell research. About 30 years ago scientists learned of ways to extract embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos. In a study conducted by Doctor Douglas Kerr, a group of 120 mice were infected with a virus that caused spinal cord damage. “When fluid containing human embryonic stem cells was infused into the spinal fluid of the paralyzed rodents, every one of the animals regained at least some movement” (Ruse 72). After many experiments and study of the mouse stem cells, the question of whether embryonic stem cells could provide the same treatments for humans as it did for the mice arises. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are cells that have the ability to develop into a few or many types of specialized cells in the body. There are three types of stem cells ranging from totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent stem cells, which will determine which types of cells a stem cell can develop into. According to a report on the science of stem cell research issued by the National Institutes of Health in the summer of 2001, “A stem cell is a special kind of cell that has a unique capacity to
Stem cells were first isolated and cultured in November of 1998 and have been surrounded with much debate and controversy since day one. “Although the ethical debates have been mostly static and have closely mimicked the ethical debates over abortion, the political determinations concerning federal funding of stem cell research have gone through numerous evolutions in the years since the first hESCs were isolated and cultured” (Saltzberg 505). Research is currently being conducted on stem cells, but only with private funds. The federal government has a ban on funding embryonic stem cell research because of the controversial issue of using embryos and fetuses. However, because of the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat many diseases, conditions, and disabilities, the federal government should fund stem cell research. About 30 years ago scientists learned of ways to extract embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos. In a study conducted by Doctor Douglas Kerr, a group of 120 mice were infected with a virus that caused spinal cord damage. “When fluid containing human embryonic stem cells was infused into the spinal fluid of the paralyzed rodents, every one of the animals regained at least some movement” (Ruse 72). After many experiments and study of the mouse stem cells, the question of whether embryonic stem cells could provide the same treatments for humans as it did for the mice arises. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are cells that have the ability to develop into a few or many types of specialized cells in the body. There are three types of stem cells ranging from totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent stem cells, which will determine which types of cells a stem cell can develop into. According to a report on the science of stem cell research issued by the National Institutes of Health in the summer of 2001, “A stem cell is a special kind of cell that has a unique capacity to
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