What You Should Know About Embryonic Stem Cell Research
The stem cell research debate has spanned numerous decades, with presidents like George HW Bush, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush rejecting funding science that tampered with human embryos, and presidents like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama appropriating money toward an end that justifies the means. If a primitive bundle of cells can be used to save thousands or millions of lives and alleviate suffering, then is it worth it? Or does embryonic stem cell research cross the line between man and God?
When does human life begin? This is the quintessential theological question behind embryonic stem cell research. Devout Catholics and Protestants will tell you, “Human life begins at conception, at the very moment when sperm and egg come together. Development from there on out should be left up to God and God only.” They argue the problem is that embryos are killed in the process of harvesting stem cells, therefore aborting the developing embryo. In a speech on August 9, 2001, former President George W. Bush explained, “While we must devote enormous energy to conquering disease, it is equally important that we pay attention to the moral concerns raised by the new frontier of human embryo stem cell research. Even the most noble ends do not justify any means.” Pope Benedict XVI went so far as to say human stem cell research was “not only devoid of the light of God but also devoid of humanity.”
Scientists working with fetal stem cells argue they’re using primitive “blastocyte” cells fertilized in Petri dishes that are typically 3-5 days old and have not formed nerves or brain cells yet. The general consensus is that fetuses are not capable of feeling and processing pain until the third trimester, or 28 weeks, when the thalamocortical connections are developed. To others, it’s a matter of practicality. James Thomson, the first scientist to do embryonic stem cell research, told MSNBC’s Alan Boyle in June 2005, “The bottom line is that there are 400,000 frozen embryos in the United States, and a large percentage of those are going to be thrown out. Regardless of what you think the moral status of those embryos is, it makes sense to me that it’s a better moral decision to use them to help people than just to throw them out. It’s a very complex issue, but to me it boils down to that one thing.”
Lately, little attention has been paid to embryonic stem cell research as more researchers set their sights on using umbilical cord stem cells instead. Perhaps the time span where the federal government refused to fund research involving fetal stem cells pushed scientists to find innovative ways to circumvent the law; or perhaps it was the realization that an adult human body would respond better to its own stem cells, rather than from a foreign embryo’s stem cells, that caused the shift.
Uncategorized