Tarah Cleveland
Dr. Hilde Van Gijssel
BIO 150
12 November 2013
Embryotic Stem Cell Opinion Paper
Before one can completely understand embryonic stem cell research, it is important to
understand what stem cells are, where they come from, and what diseases they treat. Stem cells
are different from other cells in two ways. 1) Stem cells are unspecialized, meaning they can
have numerous functions, they are also able to be renewed through cell division. 2) Stem cells
may be turned into tissue cells or organ-specific cells in the right laboratory conditions. For
example, bone marrow stem cells can frequently divide to repair damaged bone tissues (National
Institutes of Health, 2009). There are two different types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and
somatic stem cells (or “adult” stem cells). Somatic stem cells, which are what scientists and
doctors use to treat diseases currently, are found in bone marrow, peripheral blood (the
bloodstream), and umbilical cord blood (Society, 2012). Embryonic stem cells are different,
however. They are grown in a laboratory setting, deriving from a female egg and male sperm,
using in vitro fertilization (National Institutes of Health, 2009). The biggest use for stem cells so
far is to transplant blood for treating diseases in the blood or in the immune system. Stem cells
may also restore the blood system after cancer treatments. Other uses for stem cells are still
being established, but scientists think that stem cells may be able to regenerate damaged tissues
of the skin, heart, bone, spinal cord, liver, pancreas, and cornea through stem cell injections
(Barrandon, 2011).
An embryonic stem cell is an embryo produced using the eggs of a female, fertilizing
them with the sperm of a male. The eggs are not fertilized in the female’s uterus, they are
fertilized in a laboratory setting. Scientists use these cells to understand how cells differentiate
during development. Scientists are also interested in embryonic stem cells for fixing nerve, skin,
intestine, liver, and other cells in the human body (White, 2009). I believe using embryos for
research is unnatural, unnecessary, and immoral.
I believe that embryonic research opens the way for dehumanizing practices such as
cloning and using fetuses for spare parts. These are unnatural and inhumane practices.
Embryonic stem cells are made in a lab. This is an unnatural way of creating new life. This is not
the purpose of the human egg and the human sperm. One would say that a pro of embryonic stem
cell research is that these stem cells could potentially help scientists unlock the keys to
prolonging life and reversing aging. This in itself is unnatural. I believe that life should take its
course, and humans should not interfere with that or try to stop that. By taking embryos and
using them for stem cell research, we are actually taking lives in the hopes of curing diseases and
saving lives. In reality, I believe we should allow life to take its natural course and allow
embryos to fully develop in the female uterus. I also believe we should allow diseases to take
their natural course. Embryonic stem cell research interferes with both allowing diseases to take
their natural course and also allowing embryos to fully develop in the female body.
In our technologically advanced world, scientists are finding faster and more reliable
tools for research. I believe embryonic stem cell research is the same way. There are ways of
retrieving stem cells for research without using embryos. I deem embryonic stem cell research
unnecessary for this reason. A few ways that science can avoid using embryonic cells would be
taking stem cells from adults, specifically from the bone marrow of adults. Embryonic stem cells
can be found in the umbilical cords and amniotic fluid of newborn babies, so with informed
consent scientists could take those and do research on stem cells, without wasting healthy human
eggs and sperm. Another reason why I believe embryonic stem cell research is unnecessary is
because no cures have been officially discovered yet. Scientists are only saying they hope they
can cure Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, heart
disease, spinal cord injuries, and other immune system and genetic disorders. There are no
known cures for these diseases, there is only potential cures. There is no research already
developed that proves stem cells will cure the diseases listed above (White, 2009). This is why I
believe it is unnecessary to create embryos just to test. Scientists can use the resources they have,
even though they may be in lesser quantity, and do the research they can. In addition to the
question about the results of stem cell research and whether or not it will/could be effective, I
believe stem cell research may be deemed unnecessary because of the cost. Stem cell research is
funded by the government, which means it uses tax-payer dollars. According to the National
Institutes of Health 2012 report, the government spent $146.5 million on embryonic human stem
cell research, $504 million on non-embryonic human stem cell research, $163.9 million on
embryonic non-human stem cell research, and $$635 million on non-embryonic non-human stem
cell research. From 2002-2012, the government funded the National Institutes of Health with
$839.6 million for human embryonic stem cell research (National Institutes of Health, 2012). I
believe that funding for non-human and non-embryonic stem cell research is productive.
However, I believe that using human embryonic stem cells is wrong.
Embryonic stem cell research is immoral because it takes human eggs and human sperm
and produces an embryo in a laboratory setting. The egg and sperm used produce an offspring,
which is then turned into a test subject. This embryo, which has the potential of producing
another human being, is killed to be used in the research of cures for other diseases. I believe that
the egg and the sperm were created to sexually produce new life. The egg and sperm were not
created so that scientists could go into a lab and try to produce an embryo to sustain or extend the
life of another human being. I compare embryonic stem cell research to abortion. One could say
that the egg and the sperm cell produce an embryo, not a living human being. They would argue
that the baby is not alive, since it has not developed a pulse or organs. I disagree. I believe that
life begins at conception. The destruction of the blastocyst, the laboratory-fertilized human egg,
is the murder of human life (White, 2009). I believe that and my religion is based upon that.
Taking an egg and a sperm, creating an embryo in a lab, and killing it to do research is
comparable to abortion. Are abortion and stem cell research the same thing? No. Abortion is
taking an embryo and deliberately killing it, knowing that it was created through sexual
reproduction. Embryonic stem cell research kills an embryo that was produced in a laboratory.
The similarity is obvious, but I find both cases to be immoral.
Say ten years from now there is a cure for Parkinson’s disease, but it can only be obtained
through embryonic stem cells, would I still be against this stem cell research? The answer is yes,
I believe I would still disagree with the research of these cells. When asked to choose a side for
or against stem cell research, I stand firm in my belief that embryonic stem cell research is
unnatural, unnecessary, and immoral.
References
Barrandon, Y. (2011, October 6). What diseases and conditions can be treated with stem cells? .
Retrieved from Euro Stem Cell: http://www.eurostemcell.org/faq/what-diseases-andconditions-can-be-treated-stem-cells
Health, N. I. (2012). NIH Stem Cell Research Funding, FY 2002–2012. Retrieved from Stem
Cell Information : http://stemcells.nih.gov/research/funding/pages/Funding.aspx
Services, U. D. (2009, April 28). National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from Stem Cell
Information: http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/Pages/Default.aspx
Society, A. C. (2012, August 23). Sources of stem cells for transplant. Retrieved from
http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/treatmenttypes/bonemarrowan
dperipheralbloodstemcelltransplant/stem-cell-transplant-stem-cell-sources
White, D. (2009). Pros and Cons of Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Retrieved from About.com
US Liberal Politics: http://usliberals.about.com/od/stemcellresearch/i/StemCell1_2.htm