Ethical Issues of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

There are certain topics that create such passion that it is almost pointless to discuss them. These topics include politics, religion, and abortion and the use of embryos for stem cell research. Those who feel that society does precious little to protect the rights of the unborn clash with those who feel it is foolish to protect the unborn when there appears to be a way to develop help for people with severe and disabling injuries and illnesses. Looking at what people think of embryonic stem cell research can aid in clarifying the issue. Embryonic stem cell research is one of the most debated ethical subjects in America today. We hear arguments from both sides. Those against it state that the embryo is human and should thus be treated as an individual with a right to life. Those for it state that the embryo does not feel pain yet and therefore has no individual rights. As for me, I am against embryonic stem cell research. I believe it to be immoral and unethical in every way conceivable. How can we grow humans and use them as nothing more than extra parts. Once a female's egg has been fertilized the product is an embryo capable of developing into a fully living and functioning human. When thinking about embryonic stem cell research I cannot help but think about the movie The Island. In this movie you could by yourself an "insurance policy". What this means is that for five million dollars you could let the company clone your dna and make you a human to harvest body parts from if the time ever called for you to do so. It is scary to think that we are actually doing this. We may not be cloning, but we are growing humans to basically "cultivate". The focus of this paper will be to identify what embryonic stem cell research is, what it is used for, what we can use as an alternative, and why it is unethical to be doing it.

First off we need to understand what stem cells are. Stem cells are cells that are not yet differentiated and have the potential to become many different types of stem cell: embryonic and

adult. Embryonic stem cells are those which come from a fertilized egg. The embryonic stem cells are harvested at this point due to the large number of stem cells present. When the zygote is five days old, it is known as the blastocyst (a hollow ball of cells). The blastocyst consists of the outer cell layer (which would form the placenta if growth continued uninterrupted) and the inner cell mass (which forms the tissues). The inner mass consists of roughly forty stem cells which are known as pluripotent as they become many different cell types, but not all of them. Therefore it is the inner cell mass that is harvested when collecting the embryonic stem cells. At this stage there is a high growth rate as the cells are multiplying and dividing rapidly. This means that nutrients are required, usually these would come from the ovum and later through the umbilical cord, however as the stem cells are harvested