Stem cell research is one of the greatest debate topics of the 21st century. Stem cells are a powerful tool in the fight to save lives. But with so many ethical issues surrounding stem cell research I am in fear that we may loose a powerful asset. In the debate you are about to see myself and a few of my fellow group members are debating on the Con side of stem cell research.
But this not a true depiction of our thoughts on Stem cell research. The debate would be lopsided with 9 people on the pro side and zero on the con side. Although my research was to find reasons why stem cell research should be banned I found few legitimate reasons on why the research should not continue. Abortion is a delicate issue and it is one that surrounds stem cell research.
Many people feel that abortion is wrong and should be out lawed and that it is unethical to use aborted fetuses for research. With Stem cell research benefiting from abortion it might seem that Stem cell research is an advocate of abortion, but of course that is not the case. People like our current president are morally opposed to stem cell research which has hindered its production. But what confuses me abortion and stem cell research is that stem cell can be retrieved many ways a fetus is no longer needed to reproduce stem cells. Stem cells can found in adults.
They can also be retrieved from embryos. This process is where a donor is fertilized at an in vitro fertilization clinic and with the full consent of the donor they embryo is retrieved and used for stem cell research. The idea of stem cell research has always been an interesting topic. But I never understood what it took for this process to happen. Even with all of the research that I have done with my group I still have only seen the tip of the iceberg. Stem cell research is such a large topic ethically and scientifically.
With each new piece of information that I learned it only raised more questions that I wanted to have answered. How far can stem cell research take us? Could a person that lost 85% of their body have it rebuilt by stem cells, could stem cells make it so that no human would ever die except for the reason of old age? Questions like these popped up in my head Stem cell research opens a door into the world of humans playing “god”. All of the terrible deceases that have plagued us could soon be wiped out. But the power to cure deadly deceases does not come cheap. Who decides who gets to live or die? The treatment will not be cheap it will be very costly and only a few will have access to it.
People in 3rd world countries will not be able to get help form stem cells. Today there are countries that can’t even obtain fresh water or even eat on a daily basis. The problems that will surround this topic for years to come will not only be scientific but I feel that most of the problems will be moral ones. Moral problems are much harder to solve that scientific because there are people pushing and pulling from both ends.
