Stem cell research on all types of stem cells should be completely legal

Thank you for accepting. I will be taking a scientific approach to this argument. First, let's establish a basic definition of what a disease is. A disease is "a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment (1)." Many people suffer from incurable diseases all around the world today, but what if we could find a potential cure for these through stem cell research? I believe that stem cell research should be legal to practice on all stem cell types because it can provide us with valuable medical information, there are multiple different stem cell types that we can study, and because many excess embryos from in-vitro fertilization go unused or are wasted. --------------------------- Before I get into my main arguments, I will briefly address the three main arguments behind the opposition of stem cell research on all types of stem cells. The first main argument is that scientists are not certain stem cell research will provide us with many cures to incurable diseases. Just because we are not certain that it will provide us with cures, doesn't mean that we shouldn't try though. The next main argument is that it could create problems with overpopulation around the world. This argument is invalid, to a point, because the majority of the diseases that could be cured are not terminal. The last main argument against stem cell research involves ethics, and whether an embryo is life or not. According to an article in TIME magazine, "an embryo used in stem-cell research (and fertility treatments) is three to five days past conception. It consists of a few dozen cells that together are too small to be seen without a microscope. It has no consciousness, no self-awareness, and no ability to feel love or pain (3)." In a way, an embryo at this stage could be compared blueprints to a potential human life. ----------------------- First, I will be talking about the valuable information that stem cell research can provide us with. http://www.youth-restored.com... When looking at the diagram above, you can see that there is a lot of information that can come from stem cell research. The first thing it could provide us with is safer medications. Many new medications are tested for safety on rats. On occasions, medications may not affect a rat in negative ways, but it could cause a complications within a human. Testing on differentiated stem cells can provide us with safer medication testing because we can test these medications on human cells developed from stem cells. This could lead to the avoidance of having new medications that end up harming a human when it didn't harm a rat. "Cultures of cancer cells are already used for screening cancer drugs, and growing embryonic stem cells into heart, liver or nerve cells could be useful for testing drugs that affect those organs (4)." This shows that small amounts of stem cell research is beginning to improve our methods and effectiveness of medicinal treatments. The second thing it can provide us with is information on early development and stem cell differentiation. "Studies of human embryonic stem cells will yield information about the complex events that occur during human development. A primary goal of this work is to identify how undifferentiated stem cells become the differentiated cells that form the tissues and organs (5)." Studies on early development and stem cell differentiation can help us learn how to prevent birth defects and even potentially prevent cancer from developing (since cancer is when cells can"t stop dividing). The main thing that stem cells can provide us with is cell/tissue transplantation. According to an article by Guido de Wert in the Oxford University Press, stem cells can be stimulated to differentiate into any type of cell needed for a patient, then it can be transplanted into their body to repair damaged cells or to replace cells that have lost function. Diseases that can be potentially cured from this are: diabetes, Parkinson"s disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer"s, spinal cord injury, and many others (6). As you can see, a lot of the diseases that could potentially be cured are not terminal, but could enhance a person's life if treated. The last area on the diagram above is a blank box because, to put it simply, there is so much more than the things I have covered that stem cell research could provide us with that is still unknown today. ----------------------- Next, I will be talking about the different types of stem cells that are available and how successful they are. In the past ten years, scientists have been finding new ways to obtain stem cells for research. Until recently, scientists primarily worked with two kinds of stem cells from animals and humans: embryonic stem cells and somatic (adult) stem cells. In 2006, researchers made another breakthrough by identifying conditions that would allow some specialized adult cells to be "reprogrammed" genetically to assume a stem cell-like state (5). The chart below will show the effectiveness of the three types of stem cells: http://www.lifelineskincare.com... While we can study different stem cells that are not from a human embryo, this chart shows that human embryonic stem cells are the most effective in research. Human embryonic stem cells should still be used though because they are the most effective in research (like I stated before), and because scientists believe it is wise to continue research on all types of stem cells so that we can obtain the most accurate information. ----------------------- Lastly, I will talk about how many excess embryos from in-vitro fertilization go unused or are thawed. The main reason that people oppose the use of human embryonic stem cells (specifically) is because it could potentially render it incapable of growing into a human being. This is an understandable argument, but many excess embryos are wasted or killed either way. Instead of wasting these embryos, we could use them for stem cell research. When a couple has excess embryos from in-vitro fertilization (and they don't want anymore children), they have ultimately four options on what to do with them: 1.Donate them to another couple. Many couples don"t choose this because they cannot bear the idea of their biological children growing up in another family and out of their care. 2.Thaw them (discard). 3.Donate the for stem cell research. 4.Store them. Many couples end up storing the excess embryos indefinitely because they can"t decide on what to do with them, or because all other options are undesirable. In a survey of around 1,000 fertility patients who had excess embryos, 53% didn't want to donate them to another couple, 43% didn't want them to be discarded, and 66% actually wanted to donate them for stem cell research. The majority of these parents weren't allowed this option though because their clinic didn't allow it as an option (7). So because of this, many embryos end up getting frozen and stored indefinitely until they are unusable for anyone and have to be discarded. Also, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology went around to U.S. fertility clinics and counted that around half a million embryos (and counting) were being stored in 2002 (8). If this many embryos are being wasted, shouldn't we use them for a purpose through stem cell research? ----------------------- In order to take steps toward curing incurable diseases, we must continue stem cell research on all types of stem cells. Since there are half a million (and counting) unused embryos in storage, we should give them purpose by using them for research. If we could potentially restore a person's ability to walk, why shouldn't we take the measures to do so? Back to you, Con. ----------------------- (1)"Disease." Def. 1. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. (2)Kinsley, Michael. "The False Controversy of Stem Cells." Time. Time Inc., 23 May 2004. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. (3)"How Can Stem Cells Advance Medicine?" Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015. (4)"Stem Cell Basics." Stem Cell Information. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 7 June 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. (5)De Wert, Guido, and Christine Mummery. "Human Embryonic Stem Cells: Research, Ethics and Policy." Human Reproduction. Oxford University Press, Apr. 2003. Web. 9 Feb. 2015. (6)Parker-Pope, Tara. "Deciding the Fate of Frozen Embryos." Well. The New York Times, 08 Dec. 2008. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. (7)Mundy, Liza. "Souls on Ice: America's Embryo Glut and the Wasted Promise of Stem CellResearch." Mother Jones. July-Aug. 2006. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.