Why are Stem Cells so controversial?

Essay by chronic9University, Bachelor'sA, July 2005

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The paper that I am writing today deals with one of the most talked about topics to this day. Politicians win or loose elections, scientists gain funding for research, or are forced to move to countries that allow this type of research to be continued in their nation; people with numerous disabilities come closer or float further away from their dream of one day being cured of their disease. My topic is stem cell research. What are those cells and what is so remarkable about them to produce so much controversy?

What are the ethics of embryonic stem cell research and the morality of offering hope? Before giving any answer to this question, we should analyze these points and try to get answers; what is a stem cell? What are the differences between embryonic stem cell and adult stem cell? What is an embryo? Is an embryo the first stage of development of a human being? Should stem cell scientists be able to destroy even early stage human embryos in order to advance medicine? Those questions have been framed in many different ways.

When does life begin? What is the value of human life? Stem cell research is a hot button. It is controversial. It has both negative and positive sides. The key moral or ethics problem of the embryonic stem cell research is under what conditions, if any, is stem cell research morally justifiable? How society, government, and biotech companies think and approach to stem cell research? What are the current regulations about stem cell research? I will try to answer those questions in this paper.

Stem cells differ from other kinds of cells in the body. They have extraordinary potential to develop into many different cell types. Serving as a sort of repair system for the body,