Is Stem Cell Research Ethical?

 

Stem cell research undeniably has many great benefits. The ability of scientists to use human cells for research has been a huge factor in the advancement of disease research as well as research on human development. Stem cells even have the ability to make regenerative medicine possible. That is, scientists can now replace diseased cells with healthy stem cells and they will work together with the existing healthy cells to function properly once again. However, stem cells have fallen under great controversy in regards to whether or not it is ethical to use them.

Many people worry about the morality of stem cell research because of the source of many stem cells: fetuses. Stem cells can be, and often are, extracted from a fetus for use in stem cell research. However, this also means that the fetus will no longer have the ability to develop in to a healthy baby. Extracting stem cells from a fetus essentially kills it. This fact causes many people to oppose stem cell research. However, there are also alternatives.

 

One alternative to extracting stem cells from a fetus is instead extracting them from an adult’s skin cells, which causes no harm to the donor. The only problem with this method is that scientists are not sure if these stem cells will react in the same way, and with the same benefits, as stem cells from a fetus do.

Another alternative that some people believe bypasses moral issues is to only use stem cells from fetuses that would other wise not be used. For example, when a woman seeks medical help to become pregnant there is often times leftover embryos that weren’t needed to achieve the pregnancy. At that point, she is given the option to discard of the embryos, store them for later reproductive use, or donate them to science. When a woman chooses to donate the embryos, one use for them is to be used in stem cell research. Some people feel that in this case, when the embryo is not developed specifically for stem cell research and would not grow in to a baby anyway, then it is moral.

The morality of stem cell research in a complex issue that is personal. However, after learning about where stem cells come from and under what conditions, individuals are well-equipped to decide for themselves as to whether or not they support stem cell research. Consider the information above and under which conditions you support stem cell research, if at all.

Sources:

http://www.science.uva.nl/~seop/archives/win2008/entries/stem-cells/

http://www.isscr.org/docs/default-source/isscrpublications/isscr_11_stemcellfactbrch_fnl.pdf

http://betterhearingblog.com/2012/02/13/researchers-given-the-go-ahead-to-test-stem-cells-for-hearing-loss-in-infants/