The Government Should Fund Embryonic Stem Cell Research Essay

Embryonic stem cell research is a highly debated and sensitive topic.  There is a lot of good that can come from researching this technology of stem cell research because many people all across the globe would benefit from it.  The United States will soon fall short while other countries are already using this advancement if we cannot come to a logical conclusion on this vital issue.

Are embryonic stem cells the cure to many of the human body’s ailments, including defective organs and crippling diseases, or is their use a blatant disregard of human rights and the value of life?  Thanks to the rapid advancements in this field, the potential benefits of stem cells are slowly becoming reality.  However, embryonic stem cell research is an extremely divisive topic in the United States thanks to the ethical issues surrounding terminating embryos to harvest the stem cells.  In response to this debate, Congress passed the Dickey-Wicker amendment in 1995 to prohibit federal funding of research that involved the destruction of embryos.  President Bush affirmed this decision, but more recently President Obama lifted many of

The Alliance for Aging Research is a non-profit organization that promotes the use of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. As an agency geared toward improving the health of human beings as they age, some of their responsibilities include lobbying for federal legislation, conducting studies and surveys, and creating and distributing educational materials to health care professionals and the public. With Baby Boomers closely reaching the later stages of life, this group has found themselves focused primarily on research programs for the geriatric.

Embryonic stem cell is one of the most controversial, widely discussed medical issues in the United States today. The medical use of stem cell raises difficult moral and political questions. To understand about embryonic stem cell. I thought we should discuss what embryonic stem cells are. According to Scientific American; June 2004, embryonic stem are derived from the portion of a very early stage embryo that would eventually give rise to an entire body. Because embryonic stem cells originate in this primordial stage, or having existed from the beginning. They retain the pluripotent the ability to form any cell type in the body. To cell line create an embryonic stem cell, scientist remove the inner cell mass from a blastocyst created in

These cells come from fetuses which is why stem cells are such a controversial issue. In order to actually use embryonic cells, they must be harvested from an unborn baby that is in the early stages of life. Embryonic cells have the ability to be all 220 types of tissues in the human body. “This makes them ideal for regenerating diseased heart tissue, repairing spinal cords, and replenishing brain cells”, Elizabeth Svoboda, an author in the publicized Popular Science magazine, illustrates in her article about stem cells (60). Embryonic cells have limitless possibilities in medical advancement. These cells can become whatever type of cell a doctor program them to be. With the use of embryonic stem cells, doctors can cure several diseases, as well as curing people who have suffered injuries, but research is being slowed down by the ethical dilemma of aborting a

First of all an understanding of what a stem cell is, where it comes from, and the significance of it's medical potential is essential. Stem cells are the "master cells" that form the human body or whatever other animal it is from. Stem cells can be extracted from adult tissues, bone marrow, umbilical cord blood ( ), and embryos in the blastocyst stage. Although scientists have found ways to manipulate the stem cells from adult sources into other types of cells, they claim that they are less capable of deriving the desired tissue and are not "biologically equivalent" ( ) to stem cells extracted from embryos.

Abortion, gay marriage, and illegal immigration are all hot button topics currently being faced by Americans. As ardently as each side defends their stance on a controversial issue, an opposing side fights with equal diligence for the beliefs they feel should be valued by our nation. Perhaps nowhere is this battle more heated than in the fight over stem cell research. While supporters of this new field of science tout it’s potential to cure everything from blindness to paralysis, those against stem cell science liken the procedures used by scientists to murder. It is my intention to bring to light the positive benefits of stem cell research as well as counter the claims used by many Pro-life groups who believe the scientists driving this

In the United States of America, people have many rights and freedoms that are respected by the Federal Government. As stated in Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau: “There will never be a truly free and enlightened state until the state comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power” (225). In the goal to make America a truly free and enlightened state, laws have been enacted to preserve individual rights. With the furthering of medical science, the issue of individual rights vs. government regulation has been raised many times, and the right of the individual has always been held in the highest regard. This is why our government should both legalize and

As technology advances, the use of embryonic stem cell research has also expanded. Stem cells have shown promise in personalized medicine as they are undifferentiated and easily conform with the surrounding cells. There are two areas of research that stem cells are showing massive potential, cell regeneration and organ transplantation. It is thought that stem cells have the capability to “model genetic disorders in a reliable fashion such that no other method allows. It seems likely that we could use stem cells to model cells with genetic disorders and figure out how to mute certain genes, thus eliminating or drastically reducing the effects of the disease,” (1). Although embryonic stem cells (ESC) are showing great potential towards medical advancements, there are many people who are opposed to the idea of using these cells due to the aggressive nature in which we extract ESC.

A mother has developed Alzheimer’s, preventing her from having a normal relationship with her family. A newly born baby girl has a spinal cord issue, making for many years of rehabilitation ahead her. A diabetic wife struggles to take care of her household duties because of constantly having to monitor her blood sugar and deal with insulin shots. With the development of stem cell research, and the more controversial embryonic stem cell research, every one of these instances could not only be cured, but prevented, within the next half century. In fact, diseases that are predicted to be treated by means of stem cell research are figured to now plague the likes of 100 million Americans. Looking at the arguments dealing with stem cell

Research involving human embryonic stem cells and human non-embryonic stem cells has the potential to lead to better understanding and treatment of many disabling diseases and conditions. Advances over the past decade in this promising scientific field have been encouraging, leading to broad agreement in the scientific community that the full range of promising stem cell research should be supported by Federal funds. (White House)

Now, while there is a reasonable opinion to oppose stem cells, the pros of stem cell research outweighs the cons. The possibilities to stem cell research is endless. If stem cell research’s support keep growing, thousands of people's lives could be saved, possibly including your loved ones. As Americans, and human beings, we must not sacrifice, living, human lives to save a bundle of

Embryonic stem cells are cells found in the human body that have not yet differentiated, or specialised meaning that they have not yet received the specific instructions to become a specific cell. They can be manipulated to turn into any kind of cell, for example, new skin cells for someone with melanoma. Stem cells are found in the placenta, umbilical blood, fat tissue, bone marrow and mew embryos. Embryonic stem cells have an advantage over the other sources of stem cells because the cells have less exposure to the outside world and are relatively easy to access, in situations like in vitro fertilization.

Scientists and researchers believe that Human Embryonic Stem Cells hold potential cures for numerous diseases in today's society, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Lou Gehrig's disease, Hodgkin's disease, hundreds of immune system and genetic disorders, spinal cord injuries, heart disease and just about every type of cancer. In today's world there's over a million Americans who suffer from deadly diseases, not only adults but innocent children that deserve to live a healthy life. These deadly diseases can be cured or treated in a more effective way than they are treated now with the help of the human embryonic stem cells. According to the Poll on "American views on stem cell research in the wake of the death of Ronald Reagan" which was prepared for results of America, shows that a sum of 73% highly supports and somewhat support this controversial process (Results of America, 2004). Even though this topic has brought continuous political attacks and very limited funding, Human Embryonic Stem cell research has made considerable contribution to the battle against disabilities and incurable diseases. A great example of success by using human embryonic stem cells was made by Dr. Hans Keirstead in the Roman Laboratory at UC Irvine; he restored myelin insulation around damaged nerves, returning motion to partially paralyzed rats. (Journal of Neuroscience, 2005) .

According to Dr. David Prentice, Ph.D., “newer technologies exist that allow creation of identical embryonic type stem cells without the use of embryos.” Dr. Prentice is arguing against using real-life embryos and would rather see the research be done on fake stem cells that