Stem Cell Research is Moral and should be legal

Stem cell research (of all kinds) is morally acceptable, as it certainly should be. Stem cell research has opened countless doors in the medical fields. The nucleus of a stem cell is undifferentiated, meaning its chromatin has not coded for any specific job within an organism. It has not yet committed to a specific cell type, such as muscle, bone, or nerve cells. Within a zygote, the cells are totipotent. These cells can grow and develop into hundreds of other cell types, it is from these cells the rest of the cells in the body are developed through fission and mitosis. Embryonic stem cells are perhaps the "holy grail" of stem cells. This being said, the embryo is fertilized in a lab, with no uterine host. The egg is acquired from a consenting adult female, who knows what stem cell research entails, and that is what the embryo is used for, developing new lines of stem cells. In the case of the "abortion" argument, if you believe that an embryo, nothing but a clump of cells, with no personality, reason, or will, is a human, then you claim a human is nothing but a clump of cells. If you believe the embryo to be a person, just as you or I, then in preventing an embryo from being terminated, despite the potential for medicine and treatment, then you value the life of one being, (mind the voters, I do not believe the embryo to be a human) over the lives of millions of other beings, suffering from ailments and disorders that have the very real potential to be cured from stem cell research. Stem cell research has the potential to "offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including macular degeneration, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis". (http://stemcells.nih.gov...) However, Con shows her lack of knowledge on the topic in assuming that embryonic stem cells are the only stem cells there are. This is not the case. While embryonic stem cells have the most potential, and are the most versatile, other stem cells, such as umbilical stem cells are used in research. In fact, the male testes contain stem cells which produce sperm through meiosis. Stem cells found in an adult however, are much more limited in their potential to differentiate, as they are often limited to the different cell types of the tissue of their origin. Because these cells are totipotent/pluripotent, they can be used in many medical research projects. Therapeutic cloning has the potential to cure hundreds of genetic disorders. Using stem cells to clone a specific persons kidney (for example) could eliminate immunosuppressants and anti-rejection drugs, thus revolutionizing organ transplants. That being just one possibility, the amount of people that could be saved and cured through stem cells. Long term effects of stem cell therapy are little to none. If a doctor were to take an adult"s stem cell, and then grow a kidney (using donor stem cells specific to the recipient) the marker proteins of the organ"s cells will be recognized as the body"s own, and should have no side effects specific to the transplant, other than basic surgical side effects. Cons argument that it may not be effective to all ailments is another important point, as no one thing in medicine will ever be able to treat or cure all disorders, ailments, or diseases. Stem cells however, may be as close as medicine can get to this goal.