The Benefits Of Stem Cell Research

Submitted By beverly12345
Words: 871
Pages: 4

Scientists, researchers, inventors, and many other people have always tried to make the Earth a better place for people to live. They have done this because throughout time people have demanded a safer place for themselves and their children. These demands have lead to some of the greatest inventions and advancements of all time such as computers, electricity, and medicine. Without these improvements, the Earth would be a very different place. However, making these improvements was not easy there were many tough obstacles to overcome. Stem cells are the next major improvement, although they are having a hard time being accepted by all people. There many controversies surrounding stem cell research; ethical, legal, religious and moral controversies. Stem cell research will continue despite the concerns surrounding it because stem cells could save thousands of lives, the benefits outweigh the risks, and new methods of acquiring stem cells are becoming available. Stem cells could provide a real cure for many previously incurable conditions! This is possible because stem cells are able to divide and form any type of cell in the body. Since they can form any type of cell, they have a big potential for usage in medicine. For example, if a person had a damaged spinal cord, and was paralyzed, it would be possible to use stem cells to re-grow the spinal cord cells outside the body and then place the new spinal cells into a person’s damaged spine to re-grow the spinal cells and cure the paralysis. This person’s life would be forever changed for the better. The previously incurable paralysis would have been cured. Spinal cords are just the beginning; stem cells have the possibility to cure many other ailments such as strokes, burns, heart disease, and many other life threatening problems. People will demand stem cell research because it would be unthinkable to allow people to suffer from a wide rage of diseases while there is a cure available. Many people have ethical, moral, and religious concerns about the method of acquiring embryonic stem cells. They believe that the risk of destroying a three-day-old human embryo does not outweigh the benefit of saving a suffering person. The embryos that are used are acquired from in vitro fertilization clinics, where over 400,000 unused and unwanted embryos are currently frozen. Many of these embryos are discarded annually, along with future stem cells. Many scientists feel that these unused embryos should be used, to develop stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are needed because currently they have the most potential to form any type of tissue. However, because human embryos are destroyed in the process, many people are apprehensive and feel that it is wrong to use embryos. Embryonic stem cells are taken when the embryo is only three days old. It is a small clump of cells with no feelings, consciousness, thoughts, or heartbeat; it can only be seen with a microscope. There are concerns and apprehensions that three day old cells have the potential to be human life. However, there are many religious groups which do not condemn embryonic stem cell research because it has the ability to alleviate human suffering. For example, Judaism allows for embryos left over from in vitro fertilization to be used in stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells have the greatest