Funding the Future: Embryonic Stem Cell Research | Almost …

Are embryonic stem cells the cure to many of the human bodys ailments, including defective organs and crippling diseases, or is their use a blatant disregard of human rights and the value of life? Thanks to the rapid advancements in this field, the potential benefits of stem cells are slowly becoming reality. However, embryonic stem cell research is an extremely divisive topic in the United States thanks to the ethical issues surrounding terminating embryos to harvest the stem cells. In response to this debate, Congress passed the Dickey-Wicker amendment in 1995 to prohibit federal funding of research that involved the destruction of embryos. President Bush affirmed this decision, but more recently President Obama lifted many of these restrictions. Despite the significant portion of Americans that do not support embryonic stem cell research, it should be federally funded because of the potential health benefits, the definition of human, and the opportunity to clearly define regulations for ethical research.

The wide range of prospective uses for stem cells could greatly improve the health and wellbeing of many people. In stem cell treatments, undifferentiated cells are programmed to form specific cells, which can then be transplanted to the afflicted area. Stems cells can possibly treat afflictions including Alzheimers diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis (Stem Cell Basics). Another important use is in drug testing. Drugs can be tested on stem cells that develop into the target tissue before using it on human test subjects, which improves safety. Finally, transplantation of organs created from stem cells could eliminate the need for human organ donors. The type of stem cell that is the most promising is embryonic because it is completely pluripotent, or undifferentiated. It has the ability to form any type of specific cell and thus has the greatest potential for treatments in the near future. A more recent development in stem cell research is the creation of induced pluripotent cells, which are adult cells that become undifferentiated through a series of treatments. Induced pluripotent stem cells have a number of benefits because the destruction of embryos is not necessary and there are no issues with immune response or rejection because the cells come from the patient. However, it will be a long time before this type of cell become widely used on humans because the method used is not completely understood and has negative side effects. In animal testing, the virus used to introduce the stem cell factors sometimes causes cancers (Stem cell basics). Therefore, embryonic stem cells should be an important part of stem cell research. Even if induced pluripotent cells can replace embryonic cells in the future, the knowledge gained from current embryonic cell research would still be very applicable. Unfortunately, research is very time and resource intensive, which is where the debate of federal funding comes into play.

The fact that researchers must destroy human embryos to obtain the stem cells is the main issue that prevents the support of many Americans for federal funding. The question of terminating the embryo of viable offspring is a very divisive issue and will probably not be resolved in the near future, if ever. One compromise that has been reached is that researchers only use leftover embryos from in vitro fertilization that would never have developed into a child. During in vitro fertilization, many embryos are created in hope that at least one will be successful. Oftentimes, not all of the embryos that develop are needed. According to Laura Bothwell, a doctoral candidate in the history and ethics of public health and medicine in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University, There are hundreds of thousands of embryos in frozen storage in the U.S. Eventually patients may finish their families and still have some frozen embryos remaining (so called spare embryos). They then have to decide whether to discard the spare embryos or donate them to research, including stem cell research, or to other fertility patients. As long as the parents give consent, the embryos can be utilized for research. These embryos would not be used to create children and would probably be maintained in storage. Using for research seems like an intelligent use of resources. However, opponents argue that funding embryonic stem cell research would incentivize the destruction of embryos. For example, Keiper and Levin, editors of New Atlantis and National Affairs respectively, claim that all research on embryonic stem cells was preceded by and is made possible by the destruction of an embryo; the two acts are morally entangled. It is certainly clear, moreover, that by offering taxpayer dollars for the research regardless of when the embryo was destroyed, the Obama policy (unlike the Bush policy) incentivizes new acts of embryo destruction. This argument would be very valid if people started creating embryos with the sole intent of destroying them for stem cells. However, since the unused embryos created for in vitro fertilization are the main source of embryos for stem cell research, an increase in the destruction of life is not a risk of federal funding for stem cell research. On the other hand, the moral objections against the destruction of embryos in any context are more difficult to refute. Many of the opposing viewpoints base their arguments on religion and believe that life starts at inception (Waskey 349). However, these pre-implantation embryos would never have been born and are biological surpluses of the in vitro process. The embryos only exist because technology has enabled more couples to become parents, creating more human lives than we would otherwise have. It is a great gift to humanity that the embryos left over from the assisted reproduction cycles can be used for research that has the potential to alleviate human suffering. (Bothwell). The intended goal of giving a child to a family that could not reproduce naturally has been fulfilled already, and more lives can be saved in the future through research. Therefore, the overall gain of life and happiness is greater if the spare embryos are used in research.

Finally, if stem cell research were federally funded, the government would have the ability to establish clear regulations and guidelines about the use of the money. Therefore, the government can more easily enforce ethical research practices. Gov can require that researchers comply to regulations in order to receive the funding and can monitor the practices. For example, the a government agency can ensure that all embryos are obtained with consent from in vitro fertilization clinics and that no embryos are sold for a profit. These practices are harder to monitor if money is gained from private funding and the government is not directly involed. In addition, with the plethora of often contradictory laws surrounding stem cell research, the government can eradicate the moral and legal gray area in which embryonic stem cell researchers are trapped. The laws for stem cell research are very confusing and vary greatly between states. For example, according to the American Center for Progress, until November 2008, when voters amended the state constitution, it was illegal in Michigan to derive embryonic stem cells because the state constitution banned the destruction of embryos for research. As a result, researchers at Michigans large and prestigious state universities had to import cells from out of state (Moreno). Federal funding would streamline the legal aspect of embryonic stem cell research and help eliminate the unnecessary bureaucracy on both state and federal levels. Hopefully states with restrictions or bans on research would remove them when presented with the opportunity to receive financial support from the federal government (Moreno). The science aspect of stem cells is already complex and difficult enough without the added nuisances created by the current laws. Promising researchers are reluctant to invest time and resources into studying stem cells if there is the possibility it could become illegal and they had to discontinue their work because it would involve wasted time and money. Federal funding gives researchers the money necessary to carry out tests while simultaneously creating an incentive to scientists to pursue the study of stem cells. Moreover, the researchers would have a sense of security knowing they are not actively breaking the law in the name of science.

Overall, federal funding is essential for successful and rapid scientific progression in the field of embryonic stem cells because of the wide array of possible treatments, the ethics of using surplus embryos for research, and the ability to ensure properly regulated scientific practices. The superb chance to further the overall health and wellbeing of the human race should not be squandered because of legal quarrels.

Works Cited

Bothwell, Laura. Federal Funds Should Be Used for Embryonic Stem Cell Research.Stem Cells. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from Judge Lamberths Unspoken Morality.The Hastings Center. 2010.Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.

Moreno, Jonathan. Eight Reasons to Applaud Action on Stem Cells.Eight Reasons to Applaud Action on Stem Cells. Center for American Progress, 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/technology/news/2009/03/09/5745/eight-reasons-to-applaud-action-on-stem-cells/>

Keiper, Adam, and Yuval Levin. Federal Funds Should Not Be Used for Research That Destroys Embryos.Stem Cells. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from Stem Cells, Life, and the Law.National Review (25 Aug. 2010).Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.

Waskey, Andrew J. Moral Status of Embryo.Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research. Ed. Clive N. Svendsen, and Allison D. Ebert. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2008. 347-52.SAGE knowledge. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.

What are the potential uses of human stem cells and the obstacles that must be overcome before these potential uses will be realized?. InStem Cell Information. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,2009. <http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/pages/basics6.asp>

View post:

Funding the Future: Embryonic Stem Cell Research | Almost ...