Surplus Embryos For Stem Cell Research example essay topic

What has been the most important contribution of science for human beings? There is obviously more than one answer to this question; but without a doubt, the augmentation of life expectancy is one of them. Scientists work constantly to find solutions to health problems and provide people with a longer and better life quality. Cloning is an area that has been studied intensely in more recent times, and although for the most part its study and use has been highly controversial, it has also provided important attributions to science and human betterment life. Researchers have found that cloning, could provide a solution to more than one disease which where thought to be incurable. But because of the process and all the ways in which cloning can be manipulated, the legitimacy of stem cell therapy or therapeutic cloning has become increasingly controversial.

But, in spite of the ethical debate, what could be the true advantages and disadvantages that this new form of therapy could bring? Could the advantages of therapeutic cloning exceed its potential repercussions? A stem cell is a primitive type of cell that can be manipulated into developing into most of the 220 types of cells found in the human body such as blood cells, heart cells, brain cells, etc. Research involving human stem cells also promises new treatments and possible cures for many diseases including Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, burns and spinal cord injuries.

The process is the following: the DNA from an ovum is removed and replaced with the DNA from a cell removed from an adult animal. Then, the stem cells are removed from the fertilized ovum or pre-embryo with the intent of producing tissue or a whole organ for transplant back into the person who supplied the DNA. The goal of therapeutic cloning is to produce a healthy copy of a sick person's tissue or organ for transplant. This technique would in many ways be superior to relying on organ transplants from other people. The supply would be unlimited, so there would be no waiting lists.

The tissue or organ would have the sick person's original DNA so there would not be any danger of organ rejection. However, this new solution has a few setbacks, many relating to ethics. The stem cells that are being used to produce human tissue are being extracted from pre-embryos who inevitably die in the process. This is the reason why this type of research has been banned from many countries, including the U.S. More recently, scientists have made liver cells from stem cells found in the bone marrow of an adult. So, why clone an embryo when you can get the tissues you want directly from cell cultures taken from your own body? Although stem cells can also be extracted from adults, this involves a very difficult procedure and the quantity and effectiveness of the material is also very limited.

What has been argued to defend therapeutic cloning from its accusations is that this type of research has been done with surplus embryos from in vitro clinics. These types of clinics provide couples who are unable to conceive a child an opportunity to do so. Scientists take the eggs and sperm from the parents and make the embryos in a petri dish. They then take one of the cells that has been fertilized and insert it into the womb of the mother. The problem is that more than one embryo forms in the process and because the left over embryos have no further use, they die and are thrown out. Scientists are now using these embryos to practice their research on human tissue cloning, so technically (in spite of what many may argue), this is not murder seeing as the embryos would have eventually died anyway.

In other words, using surplus embryos for stem cell research can be compared to organ donning; the dead human being is giving someone else the opportunity of living by donating his essential organs which would otherwise be of no use. Another concern is that the same embryonic stem cells could be genetically altered, and grown to make super sperm or super eggs, or could be replaced back from where they were taken to make "improved" people. Also, the question of who will benefit from this new technology remains standing. If this new branch of science were to develop and its benefits made available, it is likely that very few people will have the means to make use of it.

If these ethical issues can be solved and people can come to a consensus about them, therapeutic cloning will be able to provide human life with many important contributions. The potential medical benefits of stem cell technology are very convincing and worthy of pursuit in accordance with appropriate ethical standards.