Understanding the Basics
What are stem cells?
Stem cells are the cells from which all other
cells originate. In a
human embryo, a large portion of the
embryo’s cells are stem cells. As the child
grows in her mother’s womb, most of
these cells begin to differentiate and become the heart, liver, kidneys and
all of the more than 200 kinds of tissue
found in the body. While most of these
stem cells become differentiated, all
humans retain stem cells located in
tissues like blood, bone marrow, fat and brains. Stem
cells are incredibly versatile cells that can
replicate indefinitely. These cells,
with the correct chemical cue, can
develop into specialized cells. Since stem
cells are so versatile and there are many
diseases that result from the lack of
or dysfunction of a single type of
cell, there is hope within the medical
community that some day cells can be
reprogrammed to cure various diseases.
What is
embryonic stem cell research?
This research involves the extraction of
embryonic stem cells from a human
embryo, which kills an innocent human
being. It forces one human being to
sacrifice her life without consent in the vague hope
that her cells might one day cure another
human being. Research with
embryonic stem cells has shown that these cells
are often difficult to control and can
form tumors when injected into animals or
patients. Embryonic stem cells also face the
risk of immune rejection because they
come from the body of another human
being and have different DNA.
Embryonic stem cell research has yet to cure a
single patient of any disease.
What is adult stem cell research?
This research involves using stem cells from
adult patients and does not result in
harming human life. The term “adult”
can be misleading, because these cells
are found in many places like baby teeth and
umbilical cord blood.
These cells are already naturally
programmed to repair specific damaged
tissue in the body. Adult stem cells have been
used successfully in treating more
than 70 conditions and are being used
in new clinical trials and experiments.
What
are induced pluripotent stem cells?
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells)
are ordinary human skin cells that
have been reverted back to an
embryonic-like state by genetic
reprogramming. Creating iPS cells does not harm
the patient. These cells have the potential
to change into any type of tissue in
the body. The process for making iPS
cells was discovered in November of
2007 and experiments are ongoing.
What are the ethics involved?
Proponents of
embryonic stem cell research often
cite all the potentials of the research, but
they usually fail to mention that a
human life is destroyed every time
stem cells are removed from an embryo. The
goals of this research are noble, but that
doesn’t mean that we should abandon
our respect for human life to attain
these goals. It is still never ethically
correct to sacrifice the life of one human to
save another without her consent. This
kind of utilitarian thinking was the
same kind of rationale used by Nazi
scientists and during syphilis experiments on African-
Americans in Tuskegee, Alabama.
One of the main arguments behind embryonic
stem cell research is that there are
many "leftover" embryos from IVF
treatments that will be destroyed
anyway. Why not use them to help cure diseases?
Fortunately, these unique individuals don’t
need to die. Some adoption agencies
specialize in helping couples adopt
“leftover” embryos. Parents of children
who were adopted as embryos testified in
Michigan before Michigan’s House
Health Policy Committee to show
Michigan legislators that “leftover” embryos are
members of the human family and deserving of
the right to life.
With treatments from adult stem cells already
being used and advances in iPS cell
research showing great potential,
human life does not need to be
destroyed for stem cells treatments or cures.
Adult Stem Cells vs. Embryonic Stem Cells
Adult Stem Cell Research
•
The extraction of stem cells from patients or
saving of umbilical cord blood after birth
causes no harm to the patient. Creating
induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells)
also causes no harm. These are
completely life affirming options of
research. Treatments and cures can be
discovered without killing human
beings.
•
Research using stem cells obtained from
adults and umbilical cord blood has been used
to help thousands of people with various
ailments. Clinical trials and experiments are
ongoing with adult stem cells and iPS cells.
•
Research and treatments using adult stem
cells and umbilical cord blood have shown
that these cells aren’t likely to form
tumors.
•
Adult stem cells and iPS cells can be taken
from a patient’s own body. They have the
same DNA as the patient so they don’t face
the risk of being rejected by the patient’s
body. iPS cells show the same
potential as embryonic stem cells to
turn into all tissue types found in
the body.
Embryonic
Stem Cell Research
•
The extraction of embryonic stem cells from a
human embryo kills the human embryo, an
innocent human being.
Embryonic stem cell
research forces human beings to sacrifice
their life without consent in the vague hope
that their cells might one day cure another
human being.
•
Embryonic stem cell research has yet to cure
a single patient of any disease. To get
people to support this kind of
destructive research, proponents have
created a fairy tale that cures are at
the fingertips of scientists.
•
Research with embryonic stem cells has
shown that these cells are often difficult to
control and animal and
human experiments
show they can form tumors called teratomas
when injected into patients.
•
Embryonic stem cells face the risk of
rejection and Graft vs. Host disease
because they come from the body of
another human being and have different
DNA. Many researchers would like to
get around this problem by creating
cloned human embryos whose DNA
would match the patient’s DNA.
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