Any answer on here will get a lot of criticism, regardless of what someone says, so let me just say off the bat that this is MY opinion, and one that has persuaded a lot of my peers in the process of working towards my degree in molecular genetics. Also keep in mind, I am a practicing Catholic, but still make it through the biomedical research community without having to compromise my beliefs or ethic values.
Here is a rather quick description of Embryonic Stem Cells (ES Cells): A stem cell is a cell that has the ability to "transform" into another body cell. Before transforming, it is called "undifferentiated," and does not have any special characteristics. After transforming, it is called "differentiated," and has a specific function within the body (for example, parietal cells in the stomach primarily produce acid to digest your food, and muscle cells exhibit the ability to contract, giving you freedom of movement). There are many different types of stem cells, but not all of them have the ability to turn into every type of body cell.
The one naturally occurring stem cell that can turn into any type of cell in a fully grown human is an Embryonic Stem Cell. These ES Cells only exist in fetuses for the first few weeks after conception, and after that they turn into all the different types of cells that make up the human body. Scientists see these ES Cells as potentially incredibly useful, since under the right conditions they can turn into any type of body tissue you want. Give some ES Cells the proper mix of chemical signals, and it can turn into skin tissue for burn victims, bone marrow for cancer victims, epithelial tissue for patients with internal injuries, or any other type of tissue you want.
The problem is, in order to use these ES Cells, you need to destroy the living fetus, which many people consider equal to killing a human being. So, do you allow a developing fetus to live that can grow up into a normal human being, or do you kill that fetus in order to save the life of someone with a life-threatening injury or medical condition? It is one of the most heated debates in bioethics, and understandably so.
So, from here on, I'm going to give you MY OPINION:
ES Cells are not the only way to get cells that can transform into all types of body cells, just the only known way that is naturally occurring. Recently, scientists have discovered that, under the appropriate conditions, many types of cells can, under the right conditions, revert back to the same state as an ES cell. For example, take a skin cell from somebody's arm, give it the right conditions, and watch it become as useful as an ES Cell in a few days (this is a vast oversimplification, but it illustrates the point). This type of stem cell is called an "Induced Pluripotency Stem Cell."
I strongly feel that scientists, such as myself, should avoid destroying fetuses, since I do consider it to be a human life. Rather, scientists should devote research to turn these newly discovered Induced Pluripotency Cells into viable materials for therapeutic use. So, in short, no, I do not think embryonic stem cell research is ethical, primarily because there are known alternatives that exist (still in early research stages) that may avoid all religious, political, and ethical problems.
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