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Essay / Moral and Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research
Stem cells offer exciting promise for future therapies, but significant technical hurdles remain that can only be overcome through years of intensive research . Stem cells have the incredible potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. Scientists mainly work with two types of animal and human stem cells. Embryonic stem cells and non-embryonic stem cells. Stem cells are the cells from which all other cells come. In a human embryo, a large portion of the cells in the embryo are stem cells. These stem cells can be used for cell therapies. Cellular therapies are treatments in which stem cells are induced to differentiate into a specific cell type required to repair damaged or destroyed cells or tissues. Stem cells are versatile and offer the possibility of treating a number of diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and more. The problem is that during the embryonic stem cell research process, the embryos will be destroyed if they are used. This raises a moral issue and the question of whether or not stem cell research is unethical. Stem cell research should be allowed on adults but not on humans. Allowed only on humans wishing to participate in stem cell research, but no one should be used against their own will. Embryos should not be used for embryonic stem cell research. An embryo used for its stem cells and then discarded devalues human life. This follows the same unethical issue as abortion. When stem cells are taken from human embryos, a single individual dies. However, if abortion is legal in the state where this research is conducted, research may be conducted only on aborted fetuses. It would be... middle of paper...... equal everywhere and it would go against everything God has intended. Animal research is a vital process for stem cell research and other research in medicine. Animals can be used by scientists for research purposes as long as they do not harm or kill an animal. Over the years, animals have been experimented on for research purposes and have contributed greatly to medicine. However, if animals are continually killed through trial and error, this suggests animal cruelty. Stem cell research is not necessarily bad and this research can lead to a positive advancement in the medical field. Researchers and consumers have a common interest in distinguishing good research from bad. However, this is very difficult to achieve when stem cell biology is a large and widespread field. Stem cell research could find a lot more support if scientists didn't conduct unethical research.