Stem Cell Research

A stem cell is a rudimentary type of cell that can be nurtured into various types of specialized cells ranging from the cardiac cell to the bone marrow. Despite all the optimism in this field of science there are a lot of moral and ethical questions that remain unanswered. Society has its own way of determining if a new technology or a new field of research will complete its way into the field of acceptance and for that reason a new technology or a new field of research should fully justify its own existence in the same framework as that of the society and the people living in it and thus for that reason it should be able to answer all the moral and ethical questions associated with it. They should not only be answered but answered with significant fact and figures to support it. When talking about stem cells and its acceptance in the society there are still a lot of loop holes in the stem cell technology that lack justification and that's the reason it is not being accepted by large in the society. Stem cell technology despite of having many positive aspects is not accepted in the society by large as it contradicts ethical and moral values which to most of us are of utmost importance.

By definition "a stem cell is a primitive type of cell that can be coaxed into developing into most of the 220 types of cells found in the human body (e.g. blood cells, heart cells, brain cells, etc)." (Robinson, 2004) In more depth "stem cells are unspecialized cells that renew themselves for long periods through cell division. The second is that under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become cells with special functions such as the beating cells of the heart muscle or the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Stem cells are important for living organisms for many reasons. In the 3- to 5-day-old embryo, called a blastocyst, stem cells in developing tissues give rise to the multiple specialized cell types that make up the heart, lung, skin, and other tissues. In some adult tissues, such as bone marrow, muscle, and brain, discrete populations of adult stem cells generate replacements for cells that are lost through normal wear and tear, injury, or disease. It has also been hypothesized by scientists that stem cells may, at some point in the future, become the basis for treating diseases such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and heart disease".( http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp)Thus by looking at all the aspects that might help and that do help cure diseases such as Parkinson's and various other diseases along with developing various tissues the society does think that this technology is of good use and thus they have started to accept it by providing various grants on the research by the government. Again this is the objective of the society towards the technology and the reason being are the positive aspects that might help cure diseases. It is in a way negotiating the thought that this technology is useful and this can be explained by the following quotes:

"...research involving human pluripotent stem cells...promises new treatments and possible cures for many debilitating diseases and injuries, including Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, burns and spinal cord injuries. The NIH believes the potential medical benefits of human pluripotent stem cell technology are compelling and worthy of pursuit in accordance with appropriate ethical standards." National Institutes of Health news release. (Robinson, 2004)

As stated above the benefits of stem cells research by the National institute of health tells the society about the reasons why they should accept and encourage the stem cell technology and help it develop.To an extent the society does accept as it does tell the people in the society of the benefits which in this case are possible cure for various diseases.

"Studying stem cells will help the humans understand how they transform into the dazzling array of specialized cells that makes the humans what they are. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are due to problems that occur somewhere in this process. A better understanding of normal cell development will allow the humans to understand and perhaps correct the errors that cause these medical conditions".( http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/ethics.asp)

"Another potential application of stem cells is making cells and tissues for medical therapies. Today, donated organs and tissues are often used to replace those that are diseased or destroyed. Unfortunately, the number of people needing a transplant far exceeds the number of organs available for transplantation. Pluripotent stem cells offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat a myriad of diseases, conditions, and disabilities including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis". ( http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/ethics.asp)

Thus as more and more facts and figures come out in support of the stem cell research a gradual incline of the society favouring the stem cell research can be seen and this change in the perception of society is due to the various benefits associated with the technology. Despite the facts and figures this perception regarding the stem cell technology is not held by all it is only a small part of society the majority of the society still believes it is unethical.

As stated above the reaction of the society on the whole has been negative towards the stem cell technology and the reason being is that the source of stem cell technology is considered by the majority society as a murderous act. "Stem cells can be extracted from very young human embryos -- typically from surplus frozen embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization procedures at fertility clinics. There are currently about 100,000 surplus embryos in storage. However, a minority of pro-lifers and a majority of pro-life organizations object to the use of embryos". (Robinson, 2004) They feel that a few-days-old embryo is a human person. Extracting its stem cells kills the embryo. The different sources include Blastocysts which is an embryo after six days of growth, early embryos created by human cloning, fetal Tissue, adult or child tissue, adult or child cells that can be grown into stem cells. "Stem cells can be extracted from adult tissue, without harm to the subject. Unfortunately, they are difficult to remove and are severely limited in quantity". (Robinson, 2004) The sources of stem cell technology by the society is considered to be a murderous act as in order to extract stem