Embryo Research

Embryo research is what will one day save thousands of lives. An embryo is a fertilized egg cell in its early stages of development, especially before it has reached a distinctively recognizable form. Researchers 1)grow the embryo and plant into a uterus, aka in vitro fertilization or 2) take it apart very early to derive stem cells, aka cloning research. Now, according to a Gallop poll taken in Aug. 2004 most Americans believe that the implanting of a cloned embryo into a human uterus is unethical and should be banned. But, many Americans are still confused about cloning research. In its very essence you are creating a human embryo for the exclusive purpose of dissection and experimentation. There are other options for us to explore. We need to use the 100's of thousands of left over frozen embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics, that were created for the purpose of creating children but have gone unused for years. Ethical Embryo research is crucial for both the medical and scientific fields to be able to explore new regions of the human make up. By using these embryos we 1) avoid the debate of when life begins, 2) we are still able learn the crucial information that embryo research gives us, 3) we are not letting the thousands of unused embryos go to waste.

First, I will discuss why using embryo's from in vitro fertilization clinics will help us avoid the never ending debate of when life begins. According to the National Right to Life Organizations Aug. 2005 newsletter, they believe along with many other Americans that life begins at fertilization, which would then make an embryo a living being. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sinauer Associates Developmental Biology research team believes life begins when the heart starts beating. I am not here to argue either point, I am just wanting you to understand the two sides. By using the embryo's that are not created exclusively for research, but are left over from the original intentions of creating life, we elude this fierce debate. By eluding this debate we then have more time to concentrate on the research and not get caught up in emotions.

Second, I will talk about the benefits that embryo research gives us.. By being able to do experimental research on embryos we are able to get a new feel for the genetic make up of human beings. I will also allow us to understand the teratogenesis makeup in human beings. Teratogenesis is the way