What are the ethical issues in stem cell research?

[Mr Rayon]

What's everybody worried about?

[Mokele]

Beats the hell out of me. Nothing sensible.

[iNow]

What's everybody worried about?

 

Their preacher told 'em it was immoral and agin'st gods will, ergo they are afraid of an eternal damnation to hot infernos and hellfire.

 

After that, maybe they're worried about diabetics no longer needing insulin or perhaps they don't think it's right to ease the suffering of humans who really shouldn't have to experience such pain and troublesome existence during their time here on earth.

 

Like Mokele, beats the hell out of me.

[Reaper]

Who knows? From what I've heard it's something to do with abortion.

[PoWn3d_0704]

Yea... I'm Catholic and attend a Catholic Private School.... The Church says that killing unborn children in the form of research is wrong ad shouldn't happen. Now, I don't really know anything about stem-cell research, but i do believe they use unborn fetuses to produce the stem cells, Right? If they do, then thats the Churches problem with the whole thing. They believe the kids have the right of life and should be able to choose their way of life. Each child should be able to live their life in the 'light of god' and choose their path. Something like that anyways. I say... clone the stem cells.... (of course then the Church would complain about that too) It's that point where science and religion collide.

[Mokele]

Except the embryos used are "surplus" embryos from fertility clinics. If not used in biomedical research, they'll sit in storage for a few years, then be tossed in the incinerator.

 

So, if you were an embryo, would you rather be used in research to save lives, or be tossed out in the trash along with removed appendixes and liposuctioned fat?

[Mafia]

It's the Christians. They believe life starts at the moment of conception, when a sperm fertilizes an egg, since a distinct organism has come into being. Thus the destruction of an embryo is the destruction of a human life.

 

I assumed that they'd be against artificial insemination as well, but surprisingly, it's acceptable under the following conditions: (1)if the married couple is having a problem getting pregnant and artificial insemination is recommended by a doctor (2)only the sperm and egg of the married couple are involved and (3)only one egg is fertilized and implanted.

 

On my search for answers, I found this on Yahoo Answers, which is hilarious:

 

The question was: "Why do Christians think artificial insemination is wrong?"

Here is an answer submitted:

"WELL if you will read the BIBLE you will see God made them male and female...

HE also throughout His Word when a woman was childless / barren

She prayed and sought God and HE healed her and gave HER the ability to bare a child.....

 

Did ya ever think the two wasn't going to be good parents...ever think there was a reason why they could'nt bare a child ?

Ever think that two steves or two she's were not to have children ?

If two men who bares the child for them ? whose seed is it that spawns this child ? which two woman ? which man do they use who's seed is it ? Whose genes are being placed there for them to bare ?

 

There are vast questions, for everyone

 

BUT

 

There is BUt ONE word of God and His Word is all Truth.....

 

 

Man will indeed stand and give an account to Him one day for their actions.....it is just that plain simple !!"

 

Ooookay.....and on the 3rd day God created the Remington bolt-action rifle so that man could fight the dinosaurs...and the homosexuals.

[GDG]

What's everybody worried about?

 

The word you are leaving out is "embryonic", as in "embryonic stem cells." It is unfortunate that the term "embryonic" was used at all: if these had been called "blastocystic stem cells", they likely would not have attracted any adverse attention.

 

ESCs are taken from blastocysts, which have about 50-150 cells. Needless to say, the blastocyst does not look anything like a human fetus: more like a hollow ball. At that stage, the cells are not committed to any particular fate (i.e., they have not yet started to become neurons or erythrocytes, or osteoblasts, etc.), and can be induced to become any cell.

 

There are those who believe that, even at this stage, this glob of cells is a human being with a soul, and that even if frozen and never destined for development, it should be treated as a person with rights. [What happens to the soul of a frozen embryo? Do they stay in limbo forever?] Anyway, given that it is still legal to obtain abortion in the US (at least in some circumstances), and that there is no law requiring one to implant every fertilized embryo obtain in in vitro fertilisation, I think the entire ESC debate was unjustified.

[charmeddvd123]

If two men who bares the child for them ? whose seed is it that spawns this child ? which two woman ? which man do they use who's seed is it ? Whose genes are being placed there for them to bare ?

[spamMONKEY]

BUT! We are now able to INDUCE pluripotency in what were perviously terminally differentiated human skin cells! So, I guess the question is then; will stem cell research still be such a major issue when we no longer need to take them from embryos?

 

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7175/pdf/nature06534.pdf <-- This is the article if anyone is interested.

[Fimbulfamb]

I disagree with those here that contend that religions are the sole barrier. There are social issues as well. Imagine, if you will, a society where a lot of embryonic stem cells would need to be harvested from live embryos to provide treatments for various diseases. Compensations would be made to donors; now, this could lead to an influx of poor women, looking desperately for the money. (Abortion is not a pleasant process.)

 

This problem will probably be sidestepped, though, as pluripotent stem cells are being generated 'from scratch'. It's worth noting, though, that although religious fundamentalists have clouded the scene with irrational arguments against stem cell research, there are real issues they're alienating in the process.

[spamMONKEY]

I disagree with those here that contend that religions are the sole barrier. There are social issues as well. Imagine, if you will, a society where a lot of embryonic stem cells would need to be harvested from live embryos to provide treatments for various diseases. Compensations would be made to donors; now, this could lead to an influx of poor women, looking desperately for the money. (Abortion is not a pleasant process.)

 

This problem will probably be sidestepped, though, as pluripotent stem cells are being generated 'from scratch'. It's worth noting, though, that although religious fundamentalists have clouded the scene with irrational arguments against stem cell research, there are real issues they're alienating in the process.

 

I agree; there are many important issues other than those brought forward by those of a religious bent. However, the majority of said issues (chief among which is the potential for misuse) are not being addressed by the general population because we all seem to have been blinded by an unjustified moral outrage against something that most people know very little about. Obviously that is a problem because it leads people to make irrational decisions or to simply ignore the situation, whatever it may be.

 

I’m of the opinion that once we reach the point where stem-cell research can no longer be associated in ANY way (even indirectly or dare I say falsely) with ‘killing unborn children’ then we will all begin to realise that it is a field that offers fantastic returns, and we will begin to deal with these real issues properly.

[leedavis]

I think that stem cell research and procedure should be developed because it could save millions of lives especially with those who have been suffering from diseases that does not have cure yet.

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Edited March 22, 2010 by Phi for All
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[pioneer]

One of my concerns is "gold rush fever", for mostly fool's gold. The prospect of a medical gold rush will result in a wide range of research, trying everything, including the kitchen sink. As some labs strike gold, the gold rush spreads until the demand for dead baby parts increases and a support market develops. This market will broker dead baby parts to feed the needs of the prospectors. After the gold rush levels off, we will get a few nuggets of gold but mostly fool's gold. The negative price for a few gold nuggets and a big pile of fool's gold will be connected to the broker market. They will need to cash in before the gold bubble bursts. They will need to generate supply. Who knows what that entails.

[ecoli]

One of my concerns is "gold rush fever", for mostly fool's gold. The prospect of a medical gold rush will result in a wide range of research, trying everything, including the kitchen sink. As some labs strike gold, the gold rush spreads until the demand for dead baby parts increases and a support market develops. This market will broker dead baby parts to feed the needs of the prospectors. After the gold rush levels off, we will get a few nuggets of gold but mostly fool's gold. The negative price for a few gold nuggets and a big pile of fool's gold will be connected to the broker market. They will need to cash in before the gold bubble bursts. They will need to generate supply. Who knows what that entails.

 

Possible, but still worth following through. Except for your notion of "dead baby parts". I have no idea what that has to do with stem cells.

[Rickdog]

Among the practice and study of medicin, there has always been diferent approaches of what is right or wrong among it. Any study that involves human beings or experimentation with humans is always seen as not being correct, specially by relligious groups, who not having a good argument, ussually express themselves as it being against gods will. In the past, some of Medicins most huge advancements has been banned by those conservative groups, as what happened during the 16 th century, when Mr. Andreas Vesalius, decided to do dissectations of human dead corpses, for his book "De Humanis Corpore Fabrica", where he made the first complete Atlas of the human Anatomy, which nowdays is considered as the keystone of all Anatomic studies and Surgery, but by then was considered a sacrilege and even resulted in his condemnation by the Inquisition, to die in fire, being afterwards absolved by Charles V, to whom he dedicated his work.

 

Imho, stem cells research must go on. Fortunatelly imo, some countries aren`t against it, so their research in the area now still continues. Whenever they achieve practical results, the gap among their knowledge and westerns knowledge will also achieve, that occident will be surpassed in the area and therefore the restrain done by relligious fanatics, will pobably allow medicines knowledge to make bigger advancements in the treatment of some diseases.

 

Edited March 25, 2010 by Rickdog
Consecutive posts merged.