Stem Cell Case

Over the past 30 years, since the creation of stem cell research, there has been much debate about the morality, legality, and many other aspects of the research. Many religious figures have spoken about the right to life, while political figures speak of the unethical aspect of creating an embryo simply to destroy it. Stem cells are cells that have the potential to develop into different types of cells within the body causing different types of illness or even death. However, many have argued that it would be wrong not to pursue cures for terrible diseases being suffered by existing human beings (PHG Foundation). I personally believe that not only should the government legalize stem cell research, but that they should also fund it.

Even though almost everyone has an opinion on stem cell research, most people do not even know what it actually is. “Stem cells are cells that have the ability to renew themselves through mitosis and can differentiate into many different specialized cells” (Stem Cell Research). Embryonic stem cells, often called ES cells, originate from embryos. These stem cells are taken five to seven days after fertilization. There are also adult stem cells, which are found in adult tissue. The last type of stem cell is fetal stem cells. Fetal stem cells are taken from umbilical cords after birth (Stem Cell Research).

All stem cells also have three properties; they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods, they are unspecialized, and they can give rise to specialized cell types. But all of these different stem cells have different abilities (Stem Cell Basics). Embryonic stem cells can be made into any part of the body, even the lungs, heart or skin. Adult stem cells can only make replacements for the cells they came from. For example a bone marrow stem cell can only replace a bone marrow (Stem Cell Basics).

All of this stem cell research started in 1981 when scientists discovered ways to change embryonic stem cells from mouse embryos. By 1998 the scientists were able to able to change stem cells from human embryos (Stem Cell Basics). The initial embryos used for this study were embryos that were originally created for hopeful parents in in vitro fertilization. When there were too many embryos, parents would sometimes donate them to research. In 2006 there were other major breakthroughs in ways to specialize adult stem cells. Scientists figured out a way to genetically “reprogram” some specialized adult stem cells. This was called induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs (Stem Cell Basics).

Today scientists are trying to do studies in laboratories to test new drugs and study birth defects on these cells. They are also learning better ways to replace damaged cells in adults with healthy cells (Stem Cell Basics). There are many potential uses for human stem cells. One is that it will bring information about human development. The research could also help scientists find out