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STEM CELL RESEARCH - PROS AND CONS

There are two main issues conserning stem cell research with both pros and cons:

How the knowledge will be used

Concerns about the methods involved getting the knowledge.

1) STEM CELL RESEARCH - PROS AND CONS ABOUT THE USAGE OF THE KNOWLEDGE

Cons

"We should not mess with human life."

Stem Cell-research can in the far future lead to knowledge on how to clone humans. We have seen bad consequences of other research, even with good intentions, such as nuclear research.

Pros

An advantage of Stem Cell-Research can potentially be used as therapy to combat a range of medical problems. It could lead us closer to cure:

Parkinson’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease

Heart Diseases, Stroke and Diabetes (Type 1)

Birth Defects

Spinal Cord Injuries

Replace or Repairment of the Amputated/Damaged Organs

Reduced Risk for Transplantation (You could get a copy of your own heart in a heart-transplantation in the future)

In effect, this could also give significant social and economic benefits for individuals and the society.

2) STEM CELL RESEARCH - PROS AND CONS ABOUT THE METHODS INVOLVED

Cons

Critics and those against the stem cell research, argue that there are ethical issues do not justify the benefits.

“A life is a life and that should never be compromised. A fertilized egg should be valued as a human life even if it is in its very first weeks. Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical.”

We should (and will) develop more ethical methods (such as using adult stem cells) which will enable us to research ethically. We should wait to those methods are available.

The scientific value has been overstated or has flaws. E.g. we do not know for sure that we can use stem cells to clone organs to be transplanted to oneself.

Pros

“The benefits of stem cell research has a so great outcome, that it outweigh the ethical issues.“ (Cost-benefit-analysis)

“If someone is going to have an abortion, isn’t it better that we use it for something useful?”

Adult stem cells would not be that interesting because they do not have the same properties as SC from a foster.

Another often mentioned advantage is that this research would give great insights about basics of the body.

THE DEBATE

All researchers must consider the ethics of the research. They must consider if the positive effect are likely to be higher than the negative effects.

The controversy surrounding stem cell research has both very positive consequences and negative consequences.

The stem cell research has already given us knowledge used to increase our standard of lives. The most famous example is the bone marrow transplantation which treats leukemia, lymphoma and other inherited blood disorders.

In the near future, treatment for Diabetes Type 1-Patients and Advanced Kidney Cancer are the most likely to arrive at the marked if the research is continued.

But there are also big concerns about the research: Up until now, human abortion has been needed to get proper material to study.

Look below to read the stem cell pros and cons.

WHAT ARE STEM CELLS?

(Human Embryonic) Stem Cells are crucial to develop organisms. They are unspecialized cells which have the potential to create other types of specific cells, such as blood-, brain-, tissue- or muscle-cells. They are in our body all our lives, but far more when we are fosters.

Some stem cells can create all other cells in the body. Others have the potential to repair or replace damaged tissue or cells.

Stem Cells are developed from a female egg after it is fertilized by sperm. The process takes 4-5 days.

WHAT IS STEM CELL RESEARCH?

It is used for investigation of basic cells which develop organisms. The cells are grown in laboratories without making it a foster. The tests are carried out to see fundamental properties of the cells.

The best source to get human stem cells is also ethically and morally problematic. An embryo, just days after conception, or a fetus between the 5th and 9th week, is removed from a pregnant female.

Traditionally, that means that researchers must destruct human embryos (an abortion), to get the cells to do research. Currently, intense research is closing in on getting another way to research on the topic.

CONCLUSION

The stem cell-research is an example of the, sometimes hard, cost-benefit analysis ethics scientists needs to do. Stem Cell pros and cons must be valued carefully.

When planning to investigate a phenomenon, you cannot defend a study ethically it costs more than the benefits. The analysis needs to include human/animal discomfort, environmental issues, material costs/benefits, economy etc.

So what's the dilemma in stem cell-research?

Well, first, it's a matter of lives, something impossible to measure. And in this case, we need to do exactly that, measure it.

Both an abortion and someone dying/suffering a major disease is a tragedy, which have the highest value? Does a breakthrough in the research justify the methods?

Will the cost of studying abortion outweigh the benefit of better health to humans? This choice is subjective; it has to do with our individual feelings about which have greater value.

Secondly, it's uncertain whether the research is necessary and sufficient to give us the mentioned health benefits.

Third, other consequences of the research are uncertain. Will it be misused in the future or not? Those answers are subjective as well.

This kind of research is an example of how people value different aspects differently. There simply is no easy way to objectively calculate which choice is better.

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