Niah Arevalo

RWS 1301

Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Will Alternative Stem Cells be the Solution?

The use of human embryos for stem cell research has been a critical and ongoing issue around
the world, and the regulations and policies regarding human embryonic stem cells have
constantly been changing due to the fact that scientists continue to move and progress further
into their research with these specific stem cells. Scientists have their main focus on embryonic
stem cells because they are pluripotent cells, which means that these stem cells have the
capability to turn into any cell type in the human body. Knowing this, scientists believe that
embryonic stem cells are the answer to finding cures for several major diseases, such as
Alzheimers, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and much more. However, embryonic stem cell
research involves the destruction of human embryos, and many people argue that this research is
unethical because they believe that these embryos could potentially become fetuses and
eventually turn into human life
forms.
Scientists obtain embryonic stem
cell lines from a blastocyst,
which is a mass of over 100
cells. The blastocyst is usually
around five to seven days old
when the embryonic stem cell
lines are taken out of the interior
of it. It is unethical for scientists
to go through with their research
on embryonic stem cells because
human embryos have a certain
moral status. Dr. Bernard Lo
from the University of California
San Francisco states, As a
matter of religious faith and moral conviction, they believe that human life begins at
conception and that an embryo is therefore a person (2009, n.p.). If human embryos are
considered to have a moral status almost as similar as a human being, then the destruction of
human embryos is considered to be a form of murder. More specifically, this elimination of
human embryos has also been thought of as another form of abortion.
Although it is unjust to destroy human embryos for further research, many people believe there
are alternatives to this controversy. Senator Orrin G. Hatch states, I believe that human life
begins in the womb, not a Petri dish or refrigerator . To me, the morality of the situation
dictates that these embryos, which are routinely discarded, be used to improve and save lives
(2009, n.p.). Senator Hatch sees this issue in a positive way, and he believes that human embryos
can be the key to the future of medicine if they are used properly. In 2001, President George W.
Bush limited funding for embryonic stem cell lines which caused a slight decrease in the

Niah Arevalo
RWS 1301

destruction of human embryos, but it was soon overridden in 2009 when President Barrack
Obama increased the amount of embryonic stem cell lines to be available to researchers (Genetic
Science Learning Center, 2014).
So what can be done to resolve this ethical controversy? Recently, scientists have found a way to
create induced pluripotent stem cells, and like embryonic stem cells, these particular cells can
transform into any kind of cell in the body. Induced pluripotent stem cells are created from adult
stem cells. So, if we begin to use induced pluripotent stem cells for research to finding cures,
then more human embryos will be saved and the amount of embryonic stem cells used for
research today will decrease significantly.

References

Niah Arevalo
RWS 1301

Genetic Science Learning Center (2014, June 22). The Stem Cell Debate: Is It Over?.
Learn.Genetics. Retrieved May 04, 2015, from
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/stemcells/scissues/
Lo, Bernard (2009, April 14). Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research. Endocrine reviews.
Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726839/