Embryonic Stem cell research is beneficial to society and should continue.

Thank you for accepting my challenge- it should be exciting, as this is my first debate. Let me first start by addressing your first point (and your last point), being that embryonic stem cell treatments have not been fully understood, and may result in unwanted consequences. As with any new treatment, the full implications are never initially understood, but it is clear that it has the potential to provide great benefits to people suffering from Type 1 diabetes, parkinson's, arthritis, or cardiovascular diseases, to name a few. Through additional research, scientists will be able to better understand the possible implications and hopefully be able to make stem cell treatments that minimize risk to the patient. Source: http://www.explorestemcells.co.uk... In your second point, you bring up the idea of killing the embryo, and compared it to abortion. Now, this would be implying that life begins at conception. While there are many who take to this idea, there are also many who believe life doesn't begin directly at conception, but in time afterwards when brain activity develops. It would be wrong to compare it to abortion, as there is much more evidence to suggest that the fetus in abortion is alive, rather than a collection of cells (the embryo). Additionally, the fetus in an abortion is on its way to become life, and is situated in an environment (the womb) that allows it to develop. The majority of the embryos used in stem cell research, on the other hand, come from IVF facilities, or, in vitro fertilization facilities. These are facilities that treat couples who cannot conceive a child normally. The process involves taking eggs from the female and sperm from the male, fertilizing them externally in a petri dish, and then a few days later implanting a fertilized egg into the female. Keep in mind, this is currently a widely-accepted practice, and has successfully been used to treat many couples for their infertility. However, because of the nature of this process, there are leftover embryos that would otherwise be frozen or preserved indefinitely, or destroyed. Though they have the potential to become life, they will never actually become life, as they are the excess embryos produced in the process. Why not put them to good use to benefit those already alive and suffering from degenerative diseases? Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com... This is also what the orange part of the map means in the link you posted (i.e. it is legal to perform research on the excess embryos from IVF). The U.S. would currently also be put in orange, as Obama has issued an executive order lifting multiple restrictions on embryonic stem cell research since the time that your page was made. Source: http://www.cbsnews.com... Religiously, while it is true that many branches of Christianity are against embryonic stem cell research, it does not apply to all religions. Some religions, such as Judaism and Islam, are not against the use of embryos for research, as it is not believed the "soul" has entered the person at that time. Note that these same religions are also against abortion, signifying a person's stance on abortion does not necessarily have to correlate with their position on stem cell research (i.e. one who is pro-life on abortion is not necessarily against stem cell research). Source: http://www.pewforum.org... Source: http://www.islam101.com...