Stem Cell Research

[dontfryyourbrain]

Why is it banned why is it not liked by our right winged government? Why not allow this potential tool to be used to cure disease or at least see what could be done with it.

I'd prefer to see these cells in use than in a tube sock at the bottom of my laundry basket.:)

Any other opinions?

Any justifications for not using a tool to its fullest?

[Sniper]

I agree, but many people see an embryo as a life, so they don't want us killing them. What they don't understand is that we would only use embryos that would die anyways as the result of an abortion or the like.

[methaniel]

Yeah but it's the whole problem of the soul! Some religions like the ones based on the Karma believed that the soul entered the body since the beginnig, so that's like killing somebody (and that's why some religions als forbid the abortion). I belevied that with advanced technologies, we will possibly cultivate stem cells without having to "create" a body on his own, I mean just keep some stem cells in a box and use them.

[hellfishfirefly]

all this fuss is outdated...some super inteligent researchers learned to make stemcells out of normal everyday cells (well not on 1-2-3 but trough a complicated process) i even believeit where japanese scientists , it was on belgian news 3 days ago i think...

[Excel-Kleinwald]

Alright that first post told me a wee bit too much about you dontfryyourbrain BUT I have this to say... stem cell research can be used for good prospects such as curing diseases and such but, correct me if I am mistaken here, the fear is that it would lead to cloning correct?

[Tekkaman Saber]

I'm glad that it is banned to be honest i'm sorry if this makes me seem naive and silly but i don't really like the idea of experimenting on people even if it is 'just an embryo'

[Noelle]

It may be a human life, but it probably won't be one that will grow into something. Abortions happen all the time; if we were so adverse to the killing of a human life, why was the technology for abortion - and abortion itself - developed in the first place?

I think, when stem cell research has been successfully completed and can be used to cure diseases, the number of lives saved by it will certainly outnumber the 'deaths' - if you want to consider embryos as lives, that is.

[yep]

well i think this issue is pretty much solved because they discovered out how to create stem cells from regular cells. But the debate is kinda stupid. Im partly against it and partly for it but i just stay out of this issue because i cant really decide. but with this its completely fine by me

[Sniper]

correct me if I am mistaken here, the fear is that it would lead to cloning correct?

There are a lot more fears than that, but yes that is one of them. I think that cloning stem cells is a wonderful idea. It's not like we're making a clone army of stormtroopers to conquer the Republic, we're just making new embryos so we don't have to rely on abortions. Some people seem to think that creating artificial embryos is against God's will, and this cloning will cause lightning to rain from the sky. Well, they're entitled to their opinion.

[Useless]

So I guess I am also entitled to an opinion when I say "Ha! Idiots." right?
I don't see the religious complaints as valid since, at least in the USA, its not a theocracy, so religious complaints shouldn't matter. It could be against someones morals to abort or use stem cells, but if those morals are solely based off of religious values, then I don't really even care...

[Megabuster]

If your going to abort the embryo you might as well use it to better mankind. It doesnt make sense to just waste such great research potential.

[Sniper]

Holy surprise Batman! Do we actually agree on something?:eek:

[Megabuster]

I know, its a miracle.


On a side note....,join Akatsuki.

[Tekkaman Saber]

I didn't know you was recruiting again.

[Megabuster]

We are, we had to kick out certain non appearing members


Back on topic If your against abortion I would assume your against this but if your pro-abortion than,unless you are a sadist jackass,you should be pro-stem cell research.....,that is all.

[Tekkaman Saber]

The reason i am aginst using the foetus' and embryo#'s is because i am also against abortion but if what hellfish said is true and their is a way to get the cells from regular peoples cells then i guess that is abit more reasonable.

[Megabuster]

I'm also against it but if people are getting abortions, we shouldn't waste the embryo. Its like meaning its death had no purpose. Ironicall I'm also pro-choice.

[Necrosis]

Now there is something I want to make clear.
Abortions is murder in my eyes. The embryo is a human being.
Having said that if we are going to have an abortions why not put to good use. Atleast let the human die for something good.

[Sniper]

I'm an organ doner, and when I die I want to donate my body to science. I figure I'm not going to use it. I think the same goes for the embryos.

[methaniel]

Yeah, but aborption is sometimes better I guess for both the mother and the "baby" if he had lived. If now, we can use the stem cells just by extracting it from living people, it would be great and a lot of ethic problems less

[RhyssaFireheart]

Stem Cell research has nothing to do with abortion, where did you guys get that idea.

The embryos used in stem cell research are ones that have not been used for in-vitro fertilization, which still isn't related to abortion. Don't get the two tied up and confused. Couples arrange to have IVF done, there is usually extra embryos left over, because so many eggs are fertilized to up the chances of one carrying to term.

The ethical issues come from when people believe "life" begins. It begins at conception, because the embryo is certainly a living organism, albeit as a parasitic attachment within the womb. What is under question is the existence of the soul/intelligence/"life" as we generically use the term and when does that begin. Religious persons believe that also begins at conception and using embryos (since they are fertilized eggs that have begun separation into multicelled organisms) is murder since they are used post-conception.

Making a decision about what you think (is using embryos good/bad) based on your personal (religious) beliefs is fine, but when you allow those beliefs to color and influence public policy, thereby imposing your personal (religious) beliefs on others - that's where the problems begin. That is where President Bush has gone wrong. It's a very fine line that he's got to walk though.

The created embryos have their own problems, namely the fact that a mixed cocktail of several different virii are used to push the regular cells into becoming stem cells, and it's unknown what effect the virii will have on research or further use down the line. Just because you can make a copy of something, that doesn't mean it's as good as the original.

Abortion is an entirely different topic and there is probably a thread debating that already.

EDIT - Oh, reading back again to something Sniper said - are all of you who are against any form of stem cell research because it's "murder" signed up to be organ donors? Even if you are under the age of consent, you can still choose to be a donor provided you let your parents/guardians know that is your choice. Because if you're against stem cell research yet you aren't willing to let your organs be used to help others - that makes you a hypocrite. One of the things stem cell research is meant to do is help find cures for many diseases and illnesses, ones that can make the need for organ donors less of a crisis.

Pulling abortion back in as an example - it's like anyone that says abortion is bad and needs to be banned, yet they don't work to prevent unwanted childbirths (zomg! teaching about birth control is evul!) nor do they adopt the unwanted children after they've reached a certain age (toddlers and older children have a harder time getting adopted than do newborns and infants).

[Fufu. Word.]

You beat me to it, Rhyssa.

I'm unclear on one thing though - Stem Cells were all hyped up to be the 'gold mine' of medical research and things like that. I can think of a few instances where stem cells have been put into work - putting stem cells in patients with brain damage, using stem cells to grow tissue - but has there been any practical value from any of the research? It sure doesn't seem like stem cells are as widely used as, say, stethoscopes, or whatnot.

[Tekkaman Saber]

Their not neccesarrily a hypocrit If it is possible to get the stem cells without using embryos then i wouldn't mind them being developed, but keep in midn that many religions amd faiths prohibit the letting of blood and that can include giving blood or donating organs.

[yep]

just curious but are you a jehova's witness or something? i have nothing against it or anything but anyway, yeah theyve figured out how to change ordinary skin cells and they dont even need to use the embryos. there are supposedly cells in the embryonic membrane when the baby is developing or something but there is nothing to harm when using that process. personally im against abortion but overall i believe in personal choices more and while i look down on it, its not my decision. same goes for using the fertalized egg for stem cells, im kinda against it but its better than tossing it out and overall its the parents choice.

[Tekkaman Saber]

I'm not a jehovas witnes i just meant that many people may be against it because of tehir religious beliefs.
I'm just against embryo's being used because i am also aginst abortions so i see it as a nasty by product.
I'm actually for it if they use regular skin cells to create the stem cells.
Sorry i guess my earlier post wasn't very specific.

[domomonster]

I think stem cell research is a good thing, because it could provide a cure for people who cannot walk, or things like that. I don't think that it is murder, because sure the embryo has the POSSIBILITY to be a child, but it IS NOT YET a living, aware being. I think it is worth it if it can improve the quality of peoples life.

[yep]

thats were the moral choice comes in, is it alive or not. technically it has cells and performs functions which makes it sound more like a virus, which people still debate is alive or not. the only issue is whether it thinks or not. im personally against abortion and im not gonna repeat my last post. i think its better than throwing out the embryo but the problem would be if people were trying to become pregnant for stem cells.

[methaniel]

You can think you crry the life of another one (like for the grafts). It's really something to continue on the research, it's actually the only way for curing some illness like Alzheimer (if you can renew the nerves, it will be cured, you just have to know how does the neural stem cells function-still unknow). And furthermore, it's really interesting to look at it if you like science (I have some good lessons on this things)

[Dreamscape Legend]

technically it has cells and performs functions which makes it sound more like a virus, which people still debate is alive or not.

Viruses do not have cells and perform nearly no function other than infecting cells and hijacking certain cellular components.

There is no scientist that would say an embryo is not alive the debate is over whether it is human and thus has basic human rights.

[yep]

Viruses do not have cells and perform nearly no function other than infecting cells and hijacking certain cellular components.

There is no scientist that would say an embryo is not alive the debate is over whether it is human and thus has basic human rights.

yeah i know that virus' dont have cells so sorry that i wasnt really paying attention to what i was typing but they do carry out functions. the rest of it still aplies as they cannot say the embryo is alive and they cannot say it is dead. this is what the entire controversy is based around. if it were proven that it was dead, no one would really have much of a problem with it, such as how people dont really mind when stem cells are acquired from the embryonic fluid.

[Dreamscape Legend]

To Yep:

I think we have different definitions of life in mind. I was thinking the cells of the embryo are alive so therefore the mass of cells that is called an embryo is alive and the issue would be whether or not those living cells constituted a human. I believe your perspective takes into account the entire embryo as an entity that could be either alive or dead. As if the embryo if alive has to be human. In this way embryos are debated as dead or alive and you are therefore correct. I apologize for not considering this.

The skin cell to stem cell:

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and his staff who successfully created stem cells from skin cells using retrovirus. Did find a simple alternative to embryonic stem cells. However, he has not to the best of my knowledge published a comparison of his cells directly with that of embryonic stem cells as it is illegal to do so in Japan (its actually legal in the US so he should be in cali and I might be able to meet him I hope he speaks English:) )

Regardless of this advancement the scientific community will want to continue to pursue embryonic stem cell research. The reasoning is if they put all their stock in artificial stem cells and the artificial ones have a problem they all loose out. RhyssaFireheart pointed out the potential problems with using a virus.

So the debate remains an issue on the embryonic stem cell front.

My stance on the issue:

I believe that a human becomes a living human at conception because at that point that cell has the unique DNA of a unique human individual and the ability to live as you or I would. At that point we no longer have the right to decide if that cell has the right to grow and live as a human or not. However this is more an argument against abortion and fertility clinics than anything else.

I support stem cell research as long as the research did not cause an abortion situation which I doubt has ever been the case. Also I do not support creating embryos for the express purpose of embryonic stem cell research. My stance on already aborted embryos is go ahead and use them cause they don't have the potential to grow up as a human anymore. Why would you waste a chance to help people who are still alive for the sake of the dead?

[ghassassin]

Because harvesting stem cells destroys the embryo, this medical research has become entangled in the abortion debate. Research opponents say it is wrong because it destroys human life. Supporters say the embryos were going to be destroyed anyway, and that research from their cells holds the potential to cure debilitating diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Creating embryos intended only for research raises new questions about the so called "ethics" of stem cell science.
LOL and to the dismay of many, scientists injected a new element into the debate over embryonic stem cell research by announcing they had created human embryos specifically for the purpose of extracting the stem cells. Until now, such research has been conducted, I think on embryos left over from fertility treatments or from abortions. Researchers do say that the field is promising, but I dont think any cures have been developed from stem cell research, so far.